


And Leave the Rest To Me

by D0ubleFelix



Category: Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings, Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound, Mother 3
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Character Death, Forensics, Investigations, M/M, Major Character Injury, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Other, Suspense, Violence, Weapons, im sorry that im not educated in 1920s forensic science, its literally a murder mystery so don't expect a lack of death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-05-19 00:28:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14863190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/D0ubleFelix/pseuds/D0ubleFelix
Summary: When a young woman is murdered, it's up to the newest detective of the Onett Police Force to crack the case. Officer Ness Wyman is armed with only a speck of evidence, a cheery investigation partner, a scandalous love affair with a handsome blond witness, and a slew of bystanders who know more than they're letting on. Every fact counts in a murder case, and everyone's a suspect.





	1. Who Killed Nana Karalee?

**Author's Note:**

> This story may be unsuitable for some viewers! This fic contains:
> 
> -Blood/Violence  
> -Weapon usage  
> -Depictions of death and loss  
> -Major character death  
> -References to drugs and alcohol  
> -Cartoon mischeif  
> -Adult language  
> -It's a murder mystery, you get the point.

Ness was a familiar face in the law enforcement community. He was a bit of an anomaly to some. What an incredibly gifted boy he was, having graduated high school early at age sixteen. While some would expect that he would move on to become a lawyer or a scientist due to his intelligence, Ness had a different plan. A common plan among most young boys: Ness was going to be a police officer.

Perhaps it could be reworded differently; he would be an officer temporarily. This wasn't his end goal, as he would end up putting his intelligence to use after all. Not only was be going to be a cop, he was going to be such a good cop that he would be promoted in now time to his actual dream position; a homicide detective. Or rather, just a detective in general.

He wasn't the type to give up on his desires. Ness worked tirelessly to get himself a degree in Forensic Science, before granting himself a spot in police training. He toughed his way through all six weeks of the brutal schooling, with another several weeks in field training. This was worth it, as Ness joined the police force not long afterwards. After being recognized as one of the best officers on the force, just as he'd hoped, Ness was called into his superior's office and promoted to the newest detective on the team. Ness had never been happier than he was the day he received that title. He had to admit that he enjoyed showing off his new status, being not only the newest, but the youngest investigator to be seen in quite some time, just clocking in at twenty two. Despite living in a dinky little apartment and surviving off of uncooked pasta in the meantime, Ness felt like his life couldn't get any better. He just couldn't wait to get his hands on his first case file.

That was, until the thinnest manila folder he'd ever seen was gracefully dropped onto his newly received desk, barely making a sound as it landed.

Ness stared at the practically empty folder for a few moments, before slowly looking up at the blonde young woman who'd generously delivered it to him. After a few moments of silence, mainly of disbelief on Ness' part, the girl finally tipped his head to the side and gave a sweet, but sarcastic smile.

"Chookas." She said.

"...B-but...wait!" Ness stammered, breaking out of his trance. He looked down at the case file and flipped it open. All he saw were a few documents and a couple of pictures. "There's practically nothing in here. Are you sure you gave me the right case, Paula?"

"That's the one the boss wanted you to take, I triple checked." Paula nodded her head, leaning over and resting her elbows on Ness' desk, "And from what I've seen in there, am I ever sorry for you."

"Good lord, you'd think he'd give me somethin' a little easier for my first case." Ness muttered, gripping a handful of his shadowy hair.

"Oh, that's not what I'm talking about. I mean, yeah, sucks to be you with that little info. But take a look at some of the pictures. It takes a lot to frighten a coroner, and...well, those gave me chills."

Paula slid a few of the images towards him with two fingers. Ness squinted to get a better looks against the grainy black and white image. It took him a good few seconds to finally realize what he was looking at. What he was faced with was a murder victim, and they clearly did not have a quick, painless death. His eyes widened a bit at the sight of torn flesh and caked blood, and he set a hand over his mouth. Paula nodded in understanding while watching his reaction. Ness wanted to look back up at her, but couldn't tear his gaze away from the image. While the body was decorated in gashes and bruises, the part that stood out were the two gaping sockets in the face where eyes used to be.

" _Jesus_." He mumbled, "Missing eyes?"

"And nose, and lips, and hands. Not to mention several lacerations and slit wrists." Paula relayed, "Possibly more, once I start the autopsy."

"Interesting murder tactic, to go for the wrists. Don't see why they didn't just stab 'em and get it over with." Ness said with raised eyebrows. He held up one of the information reports and read aloud, "AKA name was 'Nana'. Twenty two years old, female. She worked as a nightclub singer. She was found by a family friend near the docks. This family friend and his brother were particularly close with her."

"Poor thing, he's been shaking like a leaf all morning. Completely unresponsive to anybody except his brother." Paula shook her head sympathetically. Ness eyed her, interested.

"Is he still here?" Ness asked. Paula bit her lip and glanced towards the door.

"Yes, he is, but I really don't think you should bring him in for questioning right now. I'd be surprised if you even got a peep out of him." She said.

"I have my ways," Ness said, as he got to his feet and approached a nearby cabinet. On it's surface rested a censer. He took a moment to light it, and a thin trail of smoke rose from the scented stick. "All we need to do is loosen the kid up a little bit. Besides, if worst comes to worst, we've still got his brother. Do me a favour, and send them in."

Paula gave him a playfully agitated glare, as she clearly wasn't his assistant. However, she nodded and briskly made her way out of the room, leaving Ness alone with his thoughts. He'd considered taking this to an interrogation room, but the last thing he wanted was for his leads to feel even more shaken. Baby steps, he thought. He took another look at the collection of crime scene photos. Judging by the state the body was left in, she hadn't been found even an hour after her death. Ness drew in his lower lip. As he waited, he sifted through the other contents. He was met with several other photographs. His heart skipped a beat; it had happened more than once. Nana was not the only victim, for she'd been the latest murder of five girls. Ness didn't have much time to think about it, before he heard a few knocks on his door.

"Yep." He called, prompting Paula to once again enter the room.

This time, she was followed by two boys. One, a redhead who looked incredibly troubled. The other, a blond, who stared at the floor and tightly gripped a shock blanket. Ness instantly felt a wave of sympathy for the nearly catatonic boy. His eyes were blank and unmoving as he was guided by his brother, who gave Ness a nod in greeting.

"Here you are, Ness. This here is Claus," Paula gestured to the redhead, "And the one beside him is Lucas."

"Twins. Fascinating," Ness replied as Paula quickly exited, "There should be a couple of chairs over there, feel free to sit."

"...S-sure, okay." Claus murmured, pulling over a few chairs and guiding Lucas to sit. Ness prayed that the incense he'd burned would at least relax him a bit. He took a moment to fetch his notepad and pen, before looking up at Claus.

"Claus, she said your name was?" Ness asked.

"Yeah, that's me..." Claus trailed off to ponder on what to call him, "...Officer."

"No need for the formalities, just 'Ness' is fine." Ness said. Claus gave an awkward bow of his head. Thus, Ness continued, "Now, then. Just yesterday, the two of you discovered the body of a young woman, yes?"

"No, only Lucas did. He came to tell me right after."

"I see," Ness directed his gaze towards Lucas, "Are you okay to speak?"

Lucas' eyes shifted only a bit. He shook his head, shrinking back into himself. Claus sighed and put a hand on his brother's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Ness only put on a comforting smile.

"Not to worry, take your time." He said, "I have a few questions for Claus, then. First thing's first, how long have you two known the victim?"

"Who, Nana? She's been our friend for ages. We go way back," Claus explained, before pausing for a moment, "...W-well, we went way back. We were classmates right up until graduation."

"What was she like?" Asked Ness, "Personality wise, I mean?"

"Nana was sweet as candy, if I'm being honest. Kind of a goody two shoes. Always went home on time, got good grades, all that. I can't even think of anything negative to say. Well, she did talk a lot, and she did have a bit of a sleeping issue, but..."

"Care to describe that issue? Insomnia?"

"The opposite; Narcolepsy. Nothing serious, but it could get pretty bad sometimes. She had to take meds and shit."

"Right, okay," Ness paused to scribble something down, "And on the topic of medication, was this prescribed?"

"Yeah, don't see why it wouldn't be."

"Well, let me put it another way. Did Nana ever indulge in things like...Methamphetamine? Diomorphene? Drugs, to put it simply?"

Claus' eyes went wide, "Jesus, no! Like I said, she was super goody goody. She practically couldn't even say the word 'drug' without crossing herself. Why'd that come up?"

"To put it simply, your brother found Nana near the docks, under the boardwalk, yes? That happens to be right near the location of suspected opium dens. You know, crack houses and the like. Places where people go to get fucked up." Ness explained, "That gives us a possible motive lead."

"I guess, but...again, she never went near the stuff."

"What about you?" Ness asked, "Have you ever used anything like that?"

Claus went still, and his eyes went wide for a moment. He hesitated, opening his mouth to speak. Ness held up a hand of assurance.

"Don't worry, this is confidential. I won't tell any parents." Ness said.

"R-right, well..." Claus said, "...I mean, pot, sure. W-what kid hasn't? I was younger and stupid, I don't do that anymore. But nothing crazy, like smack, or anything."

"Mmm." Ness nodded, before giving a quiet sigh. He set his notepad down and leaned forward a bit, looking Claus in the eye, "Claus, Nana was found last night around midnight. Where were you during that time?"

Claus' jaw dropped, and he stood up in his seat, nearly knocking it backwards.

"Seriously?! You're accusing _me?_ " He exclaimed, "My friend is _dead_ , and this is what you do?"

"I am not accusing you, I just need the details. Every fact counts in a murder case, and everyone's a suspect."

"Well cool it, because I didn't do it! Nana was like a sister to us!"

Claus was suddenly stopped when he felt a tug on his shirt. He looked down to see Lucas looking much calmer, pulling at his shirt, but still gazing at the ground.

"Please don't yell." Lucas murmured. Claus' eyes softened with regret as he quickly took his seat again, hunching his shoulders shamefully.

"Sorry." He said.

"Not to worry, that reaction is more common than you think," Ness assured. He directed his attention to Lucas, relieved to see he'd loosened up. "Lucas, was it? Are you okay to speak?"

Lucas's eyes just barely met his, and he gave a sheepish nod. Ness felt a flutter in his chest. Such bright blue eyes, he thought. He'd never seen anything like them.

"My dad asked me to go to the docks to fetch him something from his boat; the keys," Lucas explained quietly, "But when I got them, I dropped them through a crack in the boardwalk. So I climbed down near the shoreline to get them, and...that's where I found Nana. I ran home and told Claus and my father, and...I can't remember passing out, but I was out cold for a few hours, apparently."

Ness gave a sympathetic nod. "Okay. Thank you, Lucas. Did you see anything odd when you found Nana?"

"I didn't see any people, but I found this..." Lucas reached into his pocket and brought out something, "...It's a flashlight or something. I just remembered I had it. It was lying in the sand."

"Interesting," Ness reached over to take it. He inspected the black flashlight and clicked it a few times. No power. "Looks like something we'd use here, at the department. This is all you found?"

"That's it. I didn't stay to look anywhere, I just took off." Lucas finished.

"Hmm. Alright." Ness said, "Well, this is still a very young case, so that's all I'll need for now. But please prepare for future questions, you two are our main source of info at the moment. Lucas, I am trained in counselling, so I am going to offer daily therapy sessions, if you'd be willing. Gives us some time to calm you down, and maybe get some more questions out of the way."

"Um...y-yeah, okay, sure." Lucas nodded and gave a weak, smile. Ness prayed that being younger than most officers would make things less uncomfortable for Lucas, who looked to be about his age. Lucas turned to his brother and shrugged off the orange blanket he'd been given, "Could you go return this? I'll catch up, I just need to...gather my things, is all."

"What 'things?" Claus asked.

"Uhhh..." Lucas glanced around him, not able to find an answer, "J-just go, it's fine! I'll be there in a second!"

He hurriedly pushed his twin out of the room, before awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck and looking back at Ness over his shoulder. Ness, charmed by the sheepish boy, grinned and casually put his hands in his pockets. He gave a bit of a snicker. Lucas hung his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry you had to see all that, I-I'm kind of a frantic person." Lucas explained. He seemed much more relaxed now.

"Nothing wrong with that. Are you going to get your 'things' now?" Ness asked, just barely teasing.

"I just...! I didn't bring anything with me, heh. Um...I had a question." Lucas said, "...If you wouldn't mind."

"Sure, shoot."

"How old are you?" Lucas blurted, "I mean...! _Dangit._..sorry."

Ness gave a lighthearted laugh, "No, it's fine. I'm twenty two."

"What? You're only a couple years older than me!" Lucas gasped, "Don't officers have to be much older? Training, and such?"

"Well, I had a bit of a head start. I graduated early." Ness explained proudly.

"Wow, heh..." Lucas brushed a strand of hair out of his face, "...You must be _really_ smart."

"I don't wanna brag, buuut..." Ness trailed off, shrugging and giving a half smile, "Why do you ask? Do you wanna join the force?"

"Who, me? Oh, nonono, I was just curious. I'm too soft for that." Lucas clarified.

"Aw, don't say that. You're not soft, you're just quiet." Ness said.

"Very, _very_ quiet. I'm pretty shy, if I haven't already made that obvious." Lucas chuckled a bit.

"Nothing wrong with being shy." Ness shrugged.

"You're the first to say. Growing up, the other kids thought it was weird."

"I don't think you're weird." Ness murmured. He hadn't realized it, but they'd been walking towards each other. They now stood only about a foot apart.

"Really?" Lucas asked, eyes shiny.

"Sure. You're just reserved. You like to stay with your own thoughts, and listen to what's around you." Ness said, "I like that."

A sudden knock on the still open door caught their attention. It was Paula, leaning against the door frame. She raised an eyebrow. Ness quickly cleared his throat and brushed off his clothing, respectfully putting his hands behind his back.

"A-anyways, yes! Those are all the questions I needed to ask, you're free to go." Ness stammered. Lucas, getting the hint, nodded.

"I guess I'll take off, then." He said. He headed towards the door, glancing back at Ness with a smile, "Have a good rest of your day, officer."

Ness watched the blond exit, keeping his gaze on him even once he was out of the room. He couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from the back of his head. He stared ahead for a few more seconds, before realizing that Paula was snapping her fingers to get his attention.

"Wake up." She said, narrowing her eyes, "I saw every bit of that. Don't go for him, Ness."

"Don't what? I have no idea what you're talking about." Ness shook his head bashfully and headed back to his desk.

"He is nothing more than a pawn, alright? Just a stepping stone in the case. I don't want you getting in trouble because of some affaire d'amour."

"Oh, go cut open some dead body, won't you?" Ness teased, "Preferably the one we need inspected for this case. Have you received the body yet?"

"Not yet, but I'll give the go forth once we do. I don't suppose this autopsy will be any different from the other victims," Paula said, "All young women, all higher class, all found in some form of warehouse, et cetera."

"Sorry, warehouse?" Ness repeated, hastily rushing back to his desk to sort through the file he'd been given, "Huh. You're right, all the others were found in storage houses."

"What do you mean, 'the others'?"

"Unlike the other victims, Nana wasn't found in a building, she was found near the docks. Over near the drug dens and shit." Ness explained, "...Hm. Just something to keep in mind, I suppose. Well! This is exciting. Ten minutes in, and I'm already making progress. Just watch, I'll be promoted to a Sergeant in no time."

"Oh! Speaking of 'Sergeant', I outta tell you why I came back here in the first place. You are a lucky duck; you get a _partner._ " Paula winked. Ness' eyes glimmered as if he were a child in awe.

"Me? My very own investigation partner? I get to tell them what to do, right?" Ness asked excitedly.

"You _do!_ It gets better; he's a few ranks above you, meaning you'll be bossing around someone of higher authority." Paula said. "He's a transfer from another department, from what I understand. He's never been to Onett in his life, so it's a good thing he was paired up with you, Mr. Born and Raised. C'mon, he just arrived."

"It just keeps getting better. I've got myself a minion." Ness tidied up the case file and stacked it neatly, tucking it under his arm.

"Yes, and you've also found yourself a new plaything too, haven't you, Casanova?" Paula said over her shoulder, half teasing, half agitated.

"Piss off, won't you? Lucas is just a source of evidence and information. I've known the guy for a few minutes, and our relationship will remain strictly professional." Ness dismissed as he followed her, trying to hide his obviously red dusted face.

* * *

 

Ness was relieved to walk out of the stuffy office and into the crowded, but roomy department lobby. Several uniformed coworkers either greeted him or congratulated him. Ness had to admit that he was enjoying the attention quite a bit. He could almost see the disappointed faces of his family members who wanted him to be a doctor. Sucks to be you, he thought. Ness followed Paula down a branch hallway. As he did so, he suddenly walked right past Lucas and Claus, who both seemed much more relaxed and comfortable. Lucas, instantly spotting him, gave him a gentle smile and a wave. Ness waved back, feeling that flutter in his chest again. Paula noticed this and rolled her eyes, grabbing Ness' wrist and yanking him along.

It didn't take long for her to lead him to an emptier section of the department. Ness immediately spotted the Chief speaking with a brand new face. He patted down his hair and straightened his collar. The Chief had seen him approaching, and quickly backed away with a nod of acknowledgment. Ness replied with his own nod, making sure to seem as respectful and professional as possible. Upon directing his attention to the stranger in his midst, Ness found himself slightly put off guard by an enthusiastic handshake offer.

"Hiya!" Exclaimed his newly appointed partner, his dark brown eyes gleaming excitedly. He had black hair tied back, with a sharp, heart shaped face. However, Ness was more interested in the khaki uniform bearing three upwards arrows on the patch over his heart. A Sergeant.

' _This guy's a_ Sergeant? _He looks like a rookie who just got hired._ ' Ness thought, giving a hesitant smile as his hand was shaken vigorously, "H-Hello, pleasure to meet you! My name is-"

"Oh, I know you. Officer Wyman, the newest addition!" His partner interrupted.

"Y-yes, but you can just call me 'Ness'." Ness waved a bit to Paula, signifying that she was dismissed. The Chief, who seemed satisfied with the interaction, also made his way out.

"Whatever floats your boat! As for me," His partner proudly set his hands on his hips, "Name's Ninten! It's a nickname, really. I came here all the way from the PPD! That's the Podunk Police Department, by the way. Kind of like the OPD, but in Podunk. you get what I'm sayin'?"

"That is the general conclusion I'd come to, yes," Ness said, "So! You're my investigation partner for this homicide case, Ninten?"

"You bet I am! Gee, lemme tell you. I've done lots'a cases, but never a homicide! I've always done robberies, and vandalism, and all that. This is an exciting change!"

"Exciting is...certainly a word you can use, sure." Ness shrugged. "Well, Sergeant, I look forward to the process. It's a tough one. A serial killer is on the loose."

"Ooooh! Spooky." Ninten whispered, "Well, what'chu waitin' for? Show me the files!"

"Right, of course. Very determined to get things done. I like it." Ness quickly retrieved the folder and dropped it on a nearby table. Ninten's eyes widened, as his expression turned confused and disappointed as he began to flip through it.

"What? That's all we get?" Ninten breathed.

"No leads, no artifacts, _nada_. Like I said, it's tough."

"You weren't kidding..." Ninten muttered. He picked up one of the photographs and inspected it, "Yikes."

"Yeah, it's pretty brutal. Think you can take it? It's a lot more different than robberies."

"We all gotta start somewhere!" Ninten chirped enthusiastically, "So, spill the tea. What super helpful evidence have you got in your handy dandy detective notepad?"

"Not much," Ness slipped the pad from his pocket and turned to the first page, which wasn't even full yet, "The most recent victim was found by a young man who was a close family friend. There's a bit of an inconsistency with the killings. The bodies are usually found in warehouses and storage units; things like that, where they'd be hidden. But this girl was found underneath the docks boardwalk, in plain sight, for all to see."

"You think that could mean something?" Ninten asked.

"Probably. Of course, it's just something to keep under our radar until we uncover more information."

"Good plan." Ninten inspected Nana's crime scene photograph, "Hm. Under the boardwalk, huh? That's such a coincidence! My little sisters live right here in Onett, and they work at a nightclub right near that place."

Ness' eyes widened, and he snapped to look up at him, "Your sisters? They work at The Seventh Needle?"

"Yah! Is that...bad?"

"No, it's perfect! The Seventh Needle is the exact same nightclub Nana sang at!" Ness excitedly gathered the contents of the folder together and tucked it away again, "Well, Ninten, this is the start of our little adventure! Come along, off we go to the hottest nightclub in Onett, yeah? It's a Saturday night, I'd only assume your sisters are working."

"H-Huh?! Well, yes, they are, they're full time!" Ninten stammered as he began to hastily follow Ness, "But Ness, that place is really protected. The guy who owns it is probably the richest guy in the country, and he's got ties with corrupt everything. I don't even know if we'll be able to get in!"

"What happened to that fire in your soul just a few minutes ago? C'mon, we'll be alright. Besides," Ness assured, reaching into his coat pocket and retrieving his badge, flashing it to his partner, "We've got these. No one can say no to a badge."

"Ohhh, you'd be surprised." Ninten mumbled as he reluctantly ran after him, "Well, whatever you say. You're the investigation leader."

"Damn skippy." Ness replied with a smirk, "Time for a family reunion."


	2. Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

"Beat it."

Ness blinked, surprised at the tone he was being faced with. The only thing blocking himself and Ninten from entering the brightly lit nightclub was a man. The much larger guard looked as if he could take all of Ness' combat and police training and break it into pieces. Ness lowered his badge, which he'd been displaying, and glanced at Ninten from the side. Ninten bit his lip. Ness sighed, and glared back at the door guard.

"I'm sorry, perhaps you misheard me. I am an officer of the  _law._ " Ness repeated.

"And I'm a security guard who gets paid two dollars a day to stop people from getting in. If you can show me a membership pass instead of that badge of yours, you're welcome in." The guard said, crossing his arms.

"Well, guess what? We get paid a whole lot more than that." Ninten boasted. Ness fought the urge to clap a hand over his forehead.

"What my partner was  _trying to say_ was that we will not hesitate to issue an arrest." Ness issued.

"Yeah, okay, I'm real scared. Bug off." Replied the security guard.

Ness furrowed his brow, now becoming frustrated. He searched for a few ideas, before a light bulb went off. He grinned a bit, tilted his head towards Ninten.

"Hey! Sergeant?" Ness asked, "Didn't you say you had... _free access?_  What was it, family benefits or something? Relatives in the workplace?"

Ninten scrambled for words upon being thrust into the spotlight. He stammered for a moment, before catching on to what Ness was saying. He shakily turned to face the door guard.

"U-uh...yeah! Yeah, I do! Listen here," Ninten threatened, trying to sound as frightening as possible, "Hows'a 'bout this? I'll let'cha in on a little secret; my last name. ' _Thibodeaux'_. That sound familiar? Hmm?"

The guard's face shifted into one of confusion, though he made no movements, "Wait, you're telling me you're related to the Thibodeaux Twins? The sisters?"

"I am their older brother, I'll have you know." Ninten proudly stated, hands on his hips.

"They said something about having an 'idiot big brother', but anybody could pretend to be him. How do I know you're not some impostor?"

"Oh, come on, you can't see the resemblance? Bullshit! Mimmie's totally got my eyes, and Minnie has my complexion!"

"Ooh, you know their names and everything. Very impressive."

"This is an order from the law, got it? I outrank this guy, so I'm k-kinda hoping that changes things." Ninten nervously rasped, "Go backstage, yeah? Go get Mimmie and Minnie, tell them that their big brother Ninten Thibodeaux is here. Oh, wait," Ninten drew his badge and flashed it, " _Sergeant_  Ninten Thibodeaux. Of the PPD. Transfer officer. Black belt, by the way."

Both Ness and the door guard stared in disbelief at Ninten's confident statement. But to Ness' surprise, the guard gave a tired sigh and turned to an employee passing by.

"Get the sisters, won't you? Tell them some guy in weird getup says he's their brother."

Ninten's jaw dropped in offense, "Wha-?! This is not  _getup_ , this is my uniform!  _Respect my uniform!_ "

"Deep breaths, Ninten." Ness murmured to the side.

A good few minutes were spent in silence. Ninten paced back and forth as Ness quietly waited. His pulse was racing. This was the first step in his investigation, he thought. He felt like a wolf in a field full of rabbits. Anticipation coursed through his veins. Soon enough, he was alerted by the front door opening, and the employee reemerging with two young women trailing behind him. Both, who looked nearly identical, were made up in clear performance attire. Their nametags labeled them as 'Mimmie' and 'Minnie'. Ninten excitedly rushed over to them, proudly crossing his arms. The two girls both rolled their eyes.

"Oh my god, it  _is_  you." Mimmie uttered, her voice filled to the brim with irritation, "My stupid big brother on another one of his robbery investigations."

"Joke's on you, Mimmie!" Ninten countered, "It's a  _homicide_  this time. Boom."

Minnie, the other sister, had taken an interest to Ness. With a hand on her hip, she looked him up and down and raised an eyebrow.

"...Who's this, an intern?" She mumbled.

"Excuse me, I am an  _officer._ " Ness insisted, taking slight offense. "I'm _leading_  this case."

"Oh, so you're still getting bossed around by lower ranks,  _Nhân?_ " Mimmie asked, clearly to spite her now flustered brother.

Ninten gasped in response to hearing his birth name. He replied with shouting something in rapid fire Vietnamese. Mimmie snapped right back, then Minnie joined in. Within seconds, all three siblings were arguing and shouting over each other in a language Ness didn't know a single word of. Ness stood awkwardly to the side, hands politely clasped behind his back, as he waited for the three to stop fighting. Each time he felt tempted to intervene, he would be stopped by his own anxiety to do so.

One of the sisters had apparently said something unforgivable, because Ninten gasped in shock, before crossing his arms and facing the other direction. The twins exchanged annoyed looks, then glanced at Ness. Ness, desperate to ease the tension, leaned towards Ninten.

"...What's wrong...?" Ness asked, feeling like he was talking to a child.

"I'm not speaking to them until they say sorry." Ninten replied.

' _I don't wanna know._ ' Ness thought, sighing, "I-I'll take it from here, then. Mimmie, Minnie, my name is Officer Ness Wyman from the OPD. I've recently been assigned to a murder case that-"

" _We've_  been assigned." Ninten corrected, still facing away.

"...R-right.  _We've_  been assigned to a murder case." Ness repeated, "With what evidence we have so far, it leads us to this nightclub. I'd like to ask a few questions, if that'd be alright."

"A murder? Here?" Mimmie asked nervously.

"You aren't in trouble, not to worry. Is there a place we can be alone?"

"Um...sure." Minnie hesitantly said, motioning for him to follow her. She faced the guard, "Let 'em in. That's our brother."

The twins led a smug Ness through the front doors, and a disgruntled Ninten followed, arms still crossed. The group traversed through a dimly lit area filled with the quiet buzz of talking. Ness felt strangely out of place in the building clearly meant for higher status individuals. Still, he put on an authoritative expression and followed the girls, who led him to a back hallway. They passed by several numbered doors, before Mimmie opened one to the right. Upon entering, Ness immediately realized it was a dressing room. He quickly covered his eyes before he saw something he wasn't supposed to see.

"Don't bother, we're not changing." Mimmie assured. Ness nodded and tentatively removed his hand. He looked to Ninten, who made it clear that he wasn't planning on speaking to his sisters any time soon.

"Right, then." Ness sighed, retrieving his notepad, "Yesterday evening, the body of a young woman was found. Nana Karalee, twenty two years old. She was a singer here. Any ringing bells?"

Both sisters' eyes went wide, as they looked at each other with dropped jaws. Ness felt a bit of hope.

"Nana? She's  _dead?_ " Mimmie breathed.

"Sadly, yes. Was she a friend?" Ness asked.

"Not really, she was barely an acquaintance. We just knew that was one of the other singers here. But... _wow._ " Minnie said, "She seemed very sweet. This happened yesterday?"

"Yes, she was found by a family friend under the boardwalk at the docks. I know that you said she wasn't close to you, but do you know anything about the day of the crime? Any notable suspects, behaviour, anything?"

The girls exchanged a look, leaning back against the opposing wall.

"Well, she  _did_  look really sick yesterday." Mimmie began, "This club is open during the day on weekends, for our matinees. Yesterday afternoon, she looked exhausted."

"She said something about her 'sleeping problem'." Minnie continued, "So our boss let her go home early. See, she'd forgotten to pick up her prescription, so she hadn't taken her medication that day."

Ness took a moment to write everything down. He thought for a moment, "...Your boss, you say? Can I get a name? Status?"

"Mmhmm. Duster Van Wolfe, he owns the place. Richest guy in Eagleland, if I had to guess." Mimmie said, "Mr. Van Wolfe is a good guy. A little eccentric, but I guess that's what makes him likable. I don't know anyone who _doesn't_  like him."

"What was his relationship to Nana?"

"Oh, she was his favourite. See, Nana's dad passed away not too long after she started working here, so Mr. Van Wolfe kinda filled in that fatherly role. It was very sweet, actually." Minnie said. Her face turned solemn as she glanced towards the floor, "...Poor guy, he's gonna be crushed."

' _Shit. I'll have to break the news to him._ ' Ness thought grimly. "I see. Back to the topic of yesterday, did things like this happen often? Nana needed to go home early?"

"Never. There's a reason she was the boss' favourite. She was always on time, always did a good job, always brought a lot of business. I've never heard such a pretty voice, too. She felt so bad, because she'd never missed a shift. Her hair was all messy, and her eyes were huge."

"What do you mean by 'huge'?"

"The pupils. You could barely even see the iris because of how big they were. She looked so tired and out of line. I've never seen her like that."

Ness stared at his notepad in deep thought. He turned to Ninten, who had a concerned look in his eye. Ninten knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Was she slurring her words at all? Also, were her eyes bloodshot, maybe?" Ness asked, "Did she seem irritable? Agitated? Twitchy?"

"Yes! All of that!" Minnie breathed, nervous, "...I thought that was just because she was tired. Is that not it?"

"Those are all symptoms of drug use," Ninten suddenly piped up, having forgotten his grudge. He turned to Ness, "But you said she didn't do stuff like that. Or at least, that's what those twins told you."

"She'd never!" Mimmie gasped, "She didn't even drink."

"We have to keep in mind that everyone has their secrets." Ness brought up, "But if Nana only just showed this behavior yesterday..."

"I have a hard time believing she just  _decided_  to start taking drugs yesterday." Ninten added.

"Coincidences _can_  happen, though." Ness reminded, "All we need is confirmation. Her body was just received for an autopsy, so only time will tell. Also, we need a reason. Did she have any possible reasons? Do you know of any troubles in her life that could've pushed her over the edge?"

"None that we can think of. Again, we barely knew her."

Ness nodded, and once again stared at the list of notes he'd taken. Making a decision in his mind, he closed the book and stuck it back in his pocket.

"Alright, that'll be all. I'll need to talk with someone a bit more familiar with her." Ness said, "Your boss, Mr. Van Wolfe, is he here today?"

"Sure, he's probably up in his office. I can escort you, if you want." Mimmie volunteered.

"Perfect, lead the way." Ness said. He glanced at Ninten, and they shared a look of anticipation. Progress, he thought, progress.

* * *

The third floor of The Seventh Needle was dark. Obviously reserved for things like storage rooms and security offices. As Mimmie led Ninten and Ness down the winding hallway, Ness got an odd, prickling feeling in his skin. He didn't like the dark. Ninten wasn't doing any better, as he was clearly spooked. He walk with a pigeon toed stance and took heavy breaths. By the time they reached a large wooden door, Ness' pulse was racing. He didn't dare admit that he was frightened, however. Mimmie reached a hand forward and tapped her knuckles against the door a few times, the sound of the knocks echoing eerily through the dimly lit corridor.

"Duster," She called, her voice solemn, "Some guys from the police department wanna talk to you."

A moment of silence from the room, "...Just a moment."

The voice Ness heard was tired and stressed. He grit his teeth; he wasn't looking forward to telling this man about Nana's fate. Keeping his composure, he lifted his head as the door opened. Revealed in the threshold was a slick, put together man who couldn't have been older than his early thirties. His brown hair was gelled back and framed his sharp, scruffy face. He looked back with tired hazel eyes. Upon seeing Ness, he instantly straightened up and adjusted his velvet green vest, giving a smile.

"Some friends from the OPD, I see!" He said.

"Yeah! Hello!" Ninten chirped, gleefully reaching over to shake his hand.

"Mr. Van Wolfe, my name is Officer Ness Wyman. This is my partner, Ninten Thibodeaux. We came here to ask a few questions about a recent case." Ness said. Duster froze up a bit, his eyes shifting ever so slightly, be he quickly regained his wits.

"A case, you say?" Duster asked, waving his hand to dismiss Mimmie, "Well. That's fascinating. Won't you come in, then?"

"That'd be appreciated, yes. We only have a few things to ask." Ness said with a bow of his head, briskly entering the room as Duster stepped to the side. Ninten followed, giving his sister's hand a quick squeeze to say goodbye.

Ness inspected the office as he entered. A nicely organized, cleaned room with a large window overlooking Onett. He began to see the evidence of Duster's wealth; almost every piece of furniture in the room couldn't have been more than a few thousands each. He was snapped out of his trance as Duster closed the door and approached his large wooden desk, hands place behind his back respectfully. He leaned against the desk casually and smirked.

"So, Officers." He greeted, "Can I get you anything?"

"No, we're fine. _Right,_  Ninten?" Ness emphasized, putting out an arm to stop Ninten from saying anything, as he was clearly planning to. Ninten's smile dropped, and he crossed his arms with a huff.

"...Right." He muttered.

"Anyways," Ness continued, "I'm afraid we come with bad news. Last night, a young woman's body was found, mutilated."

"Oh, my." Duster said.

"This woman, unfortunately, was Nana Karalee. One of your singers." Ness grimly explained, "She was the victim of a supposed serial killer."

Duster's laid back expression slowly shifted to confusion, then to shock, then to despair. His mouth slightly opened, as he wanted to say something, but he clearly didn't know what. He stared down blankly at the floor. Ness' heart sunk. He'd only had to do this a few other times in his career, and it got worse each time. Just in those few seconds, he could see the history this man had shared with Nana.

"...Oh my goodness..." Duster murmured, voice breaking. He gave an awkward, nervous laugh, "S-Sorry, I'm...I'm just shocked. Of all the things I expected to hear, that certainly wasn't it."

"I'm terribly sorry, it is in my understanding that you shared a bond with her." Ness replied.

"Aye, Nana was...like a daughter to me." Duster explained, clearly beginning to lose his formal appearance, "...Such a beautiful singer, too. So pretty, so full of life. I went to her college graduation, you know. Such a smart girl, she was."

"Did you consider her family?"

"Yes." Duster mumbled, choking once more. He quickly grabbed his handkerchief and dabbed at his eyes a bit, "Goodness, my apologies, I'm falling apart at the seams. It's just...I can't believe it. Little Nana, she's gone. You say she was found yesterday?"

"By a family friend, yes." Ness said, "Mr. Van Wolfe, I understand this is hard to take, but if you wouldn't mind, we'd like to ask some questions. Any information could get us one step closer to catching the person who did this."

Duster only gave a short nod, "Anything, of course."

Ness turned to Ninten, giving a tip of his head. Might as well let him contribute, he thought. Ninten bowed his head back, and stepped forward.

"A few of your employees state that Nana showed up to work yesterday looking incredibly frazzled and tired. She forgot to grab her narcolepsy medication. This is true?" Ninten asked.

"She was a mess." Duster nodded, "She showed up late because she fell asleep, and she felt so guilty. She was completely out of it. So, I let the poor girl go home that day. I wasn't about to make her perform."

"You let her go  _alone?_ " Ninten asked, one eyebrow raised. Duster paused, concerned.

"...W-Well, yes. Should I not have done that?" He asked.

"In a way. Mr. Van Wolfe, we have reason to believe Nana was under the influence of drugs. More specifically, Synthetic Cathinones."

"Synthetic what-now?"

"Bath Salts." Ninten clarified.

"Ah...I-I'm not very educated on things like that. I thought she was only tired, I didn't think she'd..." Duster trailed off, gripping his arm guiltily, "Besides, Nana had no interest in that kind of stuff. She was a good kid."

"That's an understandable reason as to why you wouldn't go with her, I suppose," Ness said, "But I suppose I ought to bring up the question every investigation needs. Mr. Van Wolfe, yesterday evening between the hours of five O'clock and eight thirty. Where were you?"

The room went into an uncomfortable silence. Ness kept his eyes glued to Duster's, gentle enough to not seem threatening, but direct enough to make his point clear. Duster looked back in shock. He searched for an answer, before his body relaxed. He sighed, brushed his hair back, and gave the same grin he'd had before.

"Ah, I see. I get it." Duster muttered, "I didn't do it."

"Please answer the question." Ness insisted softly.

"You suspect me, don't you?" Duster asked, voice smooth and honeyed.

"Everyone is a suspect in a murder case."

"Mmm. Well." Duster sighed again, leaning back, "I was here, at work. Cooped up here, in my office. I left at my usual time, around midnight. Nothing out of the ordinary, nothing crazy."

"That's it?" Ness asked.

"What else do you want me to say?"

"Well, regarding another question, I'd like to know if you can think of any motives Nana would have to indulge in drug usage."

"Goodness. In one ear, out the other." Duster crossed one leg over the other, "I told you, she didn't do that shit. That girl had her life together."

Ness was beginning to grow a little frustrated, "We need to keep in mind that we never know what's going on behind closed doors. Her body was found close to a collection of drug dens, which is why we feel like narcotics may be a factor in he death. She was the only victim with ties to it."

Duster, clearly growing irritated as well, put a hand to his temple, "Well, until you can show me evidence of her having drugs in her system, I won't believe it!"

"The autopsy hasn't even begun yet." Ness replied.

"Then come back to me when it has." Duster said, getting to his feet, "I'm afraid I have some business to attend to, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"Mr. Van Wolfe, please-"

"My apologies, _sir,_  but I've a long days work ahead of me." Duster approached the door and held it open. His voice shook as he talked, clearly showing that the news he'd been given was still heavily affecting him.

Ness began to utter a protest, but he felt Ninten's hand rest on his arm. He turned to meet the eyes of his partner, whose lower lip was drawn in. He knew that Ninten was telling him to cool it, and to let Duster have a while to himself. Ness hesitated, debating on what to do in his head.

' _Dammit...he's right, this is too much for the guy._ ' Ness thought, already feeling bad enough for having to tell Duster the news. He gave Ninten a short nod, before turning back to Duster, "Understood. Once again, we're deeply sorry for your loss. We will be back to ask further questions once the investigation progresses. Thanks for your time."

As Ness and Ninten promptly approached the door to make their exit, Ness was suddenly stopped by Duster's arm.

"Officer," Duster said directly, "Promise me something."

"...I'll see what I can do." Ness replied, one eyebrow raised. Duster narrowed his eyes, fire flashing behind them.

"Promise me you'll find the sick fuck who did this. Please. Promise me that Nana's passing will not have been for nothing."

Ness hesitated just a bit on the reply he'd learned many times over during his training.

"We are working very hard to do so, Mr. Van Wolfe." He relayed, "Patience is key, but this will all be worth it. Justice will be given."

Duster curtly bowed his head. "I should hope so."

* * *

Ness was a week into his investigation, and was already stressed. The day after he'd payed a visit to Duster, he received news the next day that Duster had left the country. When asking why, Ness was met with the answer that the poor man needed some time off to recollect himself. It was understandable, seeing as he'd suffered such a loss. Ness had decided to let the man take his time to heal. But with one of his main sources of information gone, he was beginning to slow down on research. It was funny how such a big case could leave so little evidence. Thankfully, Paula had begun the autopsy, and he was scheduled to arrive at the medical centre to gather any information he could. But until then, Ness was left with nothing but a few eyewitnesses and dwindling materials. He was beginning to crack under the pressure, although he'd been assured that it wasn't uncommon for some investigations to take more than several months at best. Ness promised himself he wouldn't stress himself out, but that promise was beginning to waver.

Thankfully, there was Lucas. The poor boy was still healing from the troubling experience one week ago, but through the days where he'd sit alone with Ness just to share a conversation as a way of therapy, bits and pieces of his personality were beginning to shine through. His previously dull, frightened eyes were now bright and full of a sweet, gentle kindness that gave Ness a warm feeling. Instead of sitting with his shoulders hunched as gaze faltering to the floor, Lucas sat confidently with one leg crossed over the other. Ness was pleased to see the changes, and pleased to know that his psychology training had been put to good use. What Ness hadn't expected was that Lucas' frequent visits were giving him a sense of his own therapy, in a way. The blond had nothing but good spirits and words of encouragement, giving any tidbit of information he could think of. It seemed that Lucas was Ness' only sign of light within this dark world of pressure he'd been put under. For about an hour every day, Ness was able to let go of the investigation for a while.

It was during one of these hours when the two sat directly across from each other within the office. Light streamed in from the windows, where the blinds were drawn. Ness sat politely, listening intently as Lucas went on and on about some event that had happened. Lucas was lit up by the rays of sunlight, and Ness couldn't help but stare as he listened to every single word. Between them, the tips of Ness' fingers were just barely resting over the top of Lucas' hand.

"And after _that_  happened, Claus was laughing so hard, the neighbours had to come see if we were alright." Lucas finished, laughing to himself. Ness snickered a bit as well.

" _Please_  tell me he was conveniently drinking water to then spit out." Ness replied. Lucas clicked his teeth.

"No, sadly. But that would have been  _hilarious."_ He said, "Oh, Claus. What a guy."

"He is... _quite_  the character." Ness said, leaning his cheek into one hand, "He's been driving me insane, no offense."

"None taken, that sounds about right. I heard he's been coming to the station like, all the time."

"Try every single hour of every single day." Ness groaned, "I swear, he's more dedicated to solving this case than I am. He always comes in having found some type of evidence, demanding that he's put into some sort of role."

"All he ever talks about at home is the case and how 'he's figured out more than those freakin' cops ever will'." Lucas muttered, "I love my brother to bits, but I don't understand why he's so persistent. I mean, he  _did_  want to be a police officer when he was younger. He had a fake gun, handcuffs, the whole shebang. Maybe that ties into it."

"Possibly." Ness said. His eyes just barely graced over the nearby desk clock, and he tensed up, "Good lord, we're almost twenty minutes over schedule. I should be working, you should be...I dunno,  _somewhere._ "

"I should be at home, digging through my closet to try and find something nice to wear." Said Lucas as he stood up to gather his coat. The comment caught Ness off guard, but he eventually smirked and stood up as well.

"Something 'nice'? Whatever do you need that for, if I may ask?" Ness asked, his voice sugary and suggestive, "I was going to ask you if you wanted to accompany me somewhere later, I do hope there's nothing to impose on that."

"Sadly, I  _do_  have plans." Lucas murmured.

"Do you, now?" Ness teased, crossing his arms and leaning against his desk, "Of what sort?"

"I'm...meeting someone." Replied Lucas, one brow quirked.

"Someone special?"

"Oh, yes.  _Very_  special."

"Someone...how you say...handsome, perhaps?"

"'Handsome' is a word you could use, yes."

"Ah, so you're involved in a bit of an affair, no? You've found yourself a  _lover?"_ Ness said.

"Mmhmm." Lucas nodded, biting his lower lip. He spared a glance at his pocket watch, "I'd love to stay and chat, but I really must be off. I have to make sure I look my best for later on tonight."

"Of course, yes. I'll be seeing you." Ness nodded.

'Sooner than tomorrow.' He thought as he watched Lucas exit the room, entranced the entire time.

* * *

Ness quickly ducked under a few branches and stepped into a wide clearing. He was in the forest that sat near the outskirts of Onett. The sun had long since set, and the dark orange sky was now turning black. He carefully stepped over rocks and dead trees, scanning the area for what he was looking for. He shivered against the cold air. He was surrounded by shadows, but managed to pick his way through.

Suddenly, he heard the rustling of leaves. He turned, alarmed. The shape he saw was unfamiliar, but he could tell it was human. He held his gaze at the person for a solid few seconds, unsure if it was entirely safe to approach them. He debated pulling out the torch he's brought with him. The rushing of his heart slowed when a cloud from above uncovered the moon, which shone down with a dim light, uncovering a familiar face. Ness sighed in relief.

"Lucas! How fancy seeing you here!" He called, taking a few steps forward. Lucas smiled, his icy blue eyes reflecting the shine of the moon's light. As he approached Ness, he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Officer, whatever are you doing out here in the woods?" He asked, amusement hinting in his voice. Ness smirked.

"Well, you said you were meeting someone tonight. And...with a killer on the loose, I figured it was ideal that I provide you some protection." He explained.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "How safe I feel, now that an officer of the law is here with me." As he finished his sentence, he ran forwards with a small laugh, and threw his arms around Ness' shoulders.

"Wup...! Jesus, Lucas..." Ness laughed, holding him close. They stayed like that for a moment, with Ness gingerly stroking Lucas' hair and breathing in his sweet, floral scent. He pulled away and looked into his eyes. "You came."

"Of course I did." Lucas replied warmly, "I wouldn't miss it for the world. It's so nice seeing you outside of that stuffy office of yours." He purred, his voice silky and soft. He reached up to fuss with Ness' hair, brushing it to the side. "You look disheveled."

"I'm stressed. This case is driving me up the wall," Ness explained. Lucas pouted and put his arms around his neck.

"You're  _obsessing._ " He said. He trailed his fingers to the area between his shoulder blades and massaged with his thumbs. "Stop thinking about it for  _one_  night, and think about me instead. It's nice to just...be with you. It's bad enough we have to lay low when we're at the station together."

Leading Ness by the hand, Lucas sat down against a nearby tree, beckoning for Ness to sit with him. Ness obliged, grateful for Lucas' support. In the past week they'd known each other, the two had grown very fond of one another. They had previously planned to meet each other in secret, knowing that they couldn't act like this in a public place. Being victim and investigator, they obviously had to keep a relatively spacious distance together.

But here, they could be as close as they wanted, and Ness couldn't think of anything better. Sitting there, with Lucas curled around him, was one of the best feelings he'd ever experienced. It almost made him forget about the case. He nearly brought it up again, but he chose instead to respect Lucas' wish, and stayed quiet. For a long while, they simply sat there together, bundled up next to each other to share body heat. Lucas shifted to look up at Ness, with a calm but somewhat concerned expression.

"Actually, I'll bring up the case one more time. Have you gotten any closer?" He asked. His somber voice told Ness that he was still quite affected by the incident.

"We've...gotten a bit of a break, yes." Ness said, unable to disclose any more classified information.

"Good. Because the minute I find out who that sick bastard is, I swear..." Lucas muttered, clenching his hand into a fist.

"Hey, calm down. We'll find them, and we'll give them exactly what they deserve." Ness assured, not knowing if it was a good idea to mention that there were now two supposed killers. He nudged Lucas with his arm, "Nana will be avenged. That's my promise to you."

Lucas smiled gratefully, nuzzling closer to him. "Hm. I'm sure she will."

"I  _know_  she will." Ness smirked, "I'll make sure that you and Claus get a front row seat to their trial, too." He said, "Speaking of Claus, where is he? I haven't seen him at the station today, usually he's there twenty four seven."

Beside him, he felt Lucas tense up a bit.

"Claus..." Lucas murmured, "...I'm sure he's fine, it's just...I haven't seen him all day either. I figured this morning, when he wasn't home, that he had gone off somewhere. But he's just been...away."

Ness shifted a bit, concerned, "Do you want to file a missing person report?"

"It's probably nothing. I'm sure that when I go home tonight, he'll be there. But...I don't know, it was just slightly off putting." Lucas admitted.

"Hm." Ness hummed, "I'm sure he'll turn up. Probably turning into the next town crier."

Ness' last remark managed to get a genuine giggle from Lucas, which developed into a strong laughter.

"His spiel about the case gets annoying very fast." Lucas snickered. Ness let out a small laugh himself.

Inside his mind, a few gears began to turn. Ness knew from day one that Claus was obviously very passionate about solving the case. The red head had visited the station every day without fail, bringing in anything he could find to possibly put a break in the investigation. Ness, as well as a few others in the station, were a bit suspicious of this overly obsessive behavior, but chose to think nothing of it. It was common for victims of a crime to become motivated to solve it themselves. However, Ness decided to take an extra measure. He turned to Lucas.

"Lucas...I'm going to ask you to do something for me." He said.

"Oh? Sure, anything."

"First, I'm going to ask you not to get mad at me. But...it's about Claus."

Lucas nodded, immediately catching on. "What do you need to know about him?"

Ness sighed in relief at his smooth cooperation. "...I'd like for you to keep a close eye on him. I know he's your brother, but...please. I can't help but think that he might be...hiding something. With how much he's been trying to 'solve' the case, this is a sign of a possible framing. Not only that, he's been gone all day. When you seen him again, pay attention to his behavior and what he's doing."

To Ness' surprise, Lucas didn't seem bothered by his request. He only grinned, and nodded, looking Ness intently in the eyes.

"Sure, if it helps the case. Just stay with me tonight, forget about the case for now," Lucas took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, "And leave the rest to me."

* * *

The next day, Paula had called Ness, instructing him to arrive to the hospital morgue immediately.

"Alright, I'm here, I'm here. What did you find?"

Once Ness had entered the examination room, he was met with Paula leaning over an operating table, and the preserved body of Nana Karalee laid on top of it. Beside it were three other tables, all of which had body bags rested on their surfaces. Paula turned to look at him, and motioned for him to grab a pair of latex gloves from a box nearby.

"Put some gloves on, and come look at this." She instructed. Once Ness had obliged, he rushed to her side and observed.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I have reason to believe that Nana was not killed by the slit wrists." Paula said. She reached over to part a few locks of Nana's hair to expose a large bruise on her scalp, "She also suffered from blunt force trauma. I think this is the cause of death."

Ness glanced at her, confused.

"How can that be? Surely, such violent wrist wounds would be the cause."

"Well..." Paula reached over to grab a sheet off the table. "I sent in two samples of blood for testing. One sample was blood taken directly from Nana's body, and the other sample was the blood from her wrist wounds."

"And?"

There was a long pause.

"They're not the same." Paula confirmed. "Nana is Type B positive. The other sample is A negative."

"What?!" Ness examined the sheet. Of course, as Paula had said, the two samples of blood were two completely different types. He put a hand over his mouth in deep thought, looking to the ground as his mind began to put together any pieces it could.

"My main theory is that the blood on her wrists was the result of her getting into a fight with the attacker. She put up quite a fight, because there's a lot of blood there. And-"

"No."

Paula glanced at Ness, eyes narrowed.

"What?" She asked.

"That's...that's not what happened." Ness murmured. He was focused directly on the body, particularly on the arm stumps. He turned to Paula and gestured to the three other operating tables in the room. "These are the other victims, yes?"

"That's right." Paula nodded.

"May I see?" Ness asked.

"Be my guest."

Ness made his way to the table beside Nana and carefully opened the bag, revealing the body of the third victim. He observed her closely, for what seemed like minutes. Then, he made his way to the next one.

"They all have the same wounds, Ness. The only difference is Nana's bruise." Paula insisted.

Ness didn't say anything, he only moved to the last one. After examining the other three bodies thoroughly, he went back to Nana.

"No, they don't all have the same wounds." He said.

"What are you going off about?" Paula asked, walking to his side.

"Take a closer look at the other girl's wounds, then Nana's. Do you see a difference?" Ness prompted. Paula did so.

"I don't, it's all just the same-" She paused. She squinted. "Oh, hold on...wait a minute..."

"They all have the same type of injury, yes. But these other girls; their hands, nose, and everything else have obviously been taken clean off, in one motion. This looks like the work of an axe. But Nana..." He trailed off to let Paula finish.

"Her wounds are messy!" She realized, "Which means whoever did this used a saw of some sort."

"Exactly. This, combined with the fact that she was found in a completely different place than the other victims leads me to believe that-"

"It's a copycat killing!" Paula cut him off.

"Yes. This isn't the work of the original killer."

"Amazing, I can't believe I didn't see that!" Paula cried, putting a hand on her head in shock, "But, the blood...?"

"Whoever killed Nana wanted to make it look like the original killer did it. After killing her, possibly by hitting her over the head with something, they recreated the death to make it look like the work of someone else. All the way down to the slit wrists. But after slitting her wrists, they would realize something key." Ness explained.

"Dead bodies don't bleed." Both he and Paula said at the same time.

"And so they smeared their own blood on her arms to make it look like she had bled out!" Paula finished.

"Exactly!"

"So there's two! That explains Nana's body being left in a different place. This copycat didn't do enough research." Paula said.

"Lucky for us." Ness said. He sighed in relief and put his hands into prayer position, "Finally, we're getting somewhere!"

"Yes, but now you have two killers to go after." Paula reminded.

"Possibly not. I'm gonna talk to the chief and let him know that there's two. Chances are, he'll split the investigation for two different teams to find each killer. Here's hoping he'll give Ninten and I the easier one."

As Ness left the hospital in a hurry to get back to the station to alert his officials of his discovery, he felt a sense of fiery determination well up inside of him. Finally, his first big break. While he was no closer to finding the identity of the killer, he was getting somewhere. Now knowing the true cause of Nana's death, apparently being trauma to the head, he began to put a few more things together. The flashlight, he thought. Lucas had found a flashlight near the crime scene. If swung hard enough, a torch could easily kill someone. The torches had been used by officers before for self defense. That being said, Ness decided that for now, it was safe to assume that it was the murder weapon. How the suspect had gotten their hands on a flashlight used by law enforcement, he didn't know. He couldn't wait to jot down every note he'd taken and arrange them on his corkboard, using different colours of string to connect certain points. It would look so cool and professional to anyone entering the office, he thought.

' _Just wait 'till Ninten finds out about this.'_  Ness thought,  _'One step closer! A small one, but a step nonetheless!'_


	3. An Unfortunate Day

 

"...Bath salts."

Paula nodded as Ninten nervously glanced up from the test page he'd been handed. Ninten passed the sheet to Ness, who scanned it, and came to the same conclusion. He furrowed his brow and looked up at Paula, who took it as her cue to relay answers.

"We found several traces of Synthetic Cathinones in Nana's body. Faint traces, but they were there." Paula said. Ness ran a hand through his hair. The air within his office suddenly felt stuffy.

"So...Nana really  _did_  take the stuff, huh?" Ninten prompted, leaning against the filing cabinet.

"It would seem so," Paula said, "Judging by what we know, it didn't look like a common occurrence."

"That makes sense, seeing as everyone who knew her denied her ever touching it." Said Ness.

"That's because she probably never did, not until just before her death." Paula explained. Ninten and Ness looked at each other, before turning back to the coroner.

"...Elaborate." Ninten said.

"Visible signs of usage of this stuff usually include stuff like teeth that have clearly been grinding, discolouration in the liver, rough patches on the skin, stuff like that. But we found none of that. For the most part, Nana looked like an average, perfectly healthy young woman." Paula relayed, "In my professional estimate, she'd taken a whole shitload of the stuff before she was killed. This could give us any number of motives for the copycat killer."

"Maybe she pissed someone off." Ninten suggested, "From what I understand, taking a large amount of that specific drug in that little time can make you lose it. Maybe Nana was out of her right mind, and did something absentmindedly to tick off some guy."

"It's a possibility." Ness replied, "Maybe someone was trying to get her hooked. Those guys will take any chance they can to get another customer. They could've snatched her while she was walking home from getting let off of work early, and could've forced her into using it, thus prompting her to act crazy."

"Whatever the motive was, all we know is that Nana's usage of drugs and the place where her body was found are definitely linked." Paula said, "What're you two thinking is next?"

"We just...keep doing whatever it is we've been doing, I guess. Clearly, we're on the right track." Ninten said.

Even after Paula had left to assume her business, Ness continued to pace around the room in deep thought, observing the lab sheet. As he did so, Ninten patiently waited, knowing that several gears were turning in his head. A growing sense of anticipation filled the room. Ness was murmuring several things to himself. The clock kept ticking, and several minutes seemed to pass by. Ninten, eventually too curious to know what his partner was thinking about, clicked his teeth.

"Gee whiz, if only you had an investigation partner to collaborate with." Ninten said teasingly. Ness looked up, ending his pacing.

"Huh?" Ness blinked, "Oh! Jesus, sorry, Ninten..."

"Nah, s'alright. You had your 'think' face on. What'chu thinkin' about?" Ninten asked, sitting down on the corner of the desk. Ness spared another glance at the sheet.

"Trying to figure out why the hell Nana would take this stuff. I mean, sure, people her age get into drugs all the time, but..." Ness sighed, "...Bath salts? Of all things? Usually they start with something like weed, then work their way up. But she just... _went_  for it."

"Which is why I  _really_  don't think it was voluntary on her part." Ninten said, "I definitely think someone forced her to do it."

"Got any idea on who?"

"Well, sure. The first idea is one of the dealers themselves."

"But that also doesn't make much sense," Ness said, "Nana left work that day early in the morning, and took a bus to get home. First of all, that route is pretty far from the dens. Second of all, it was complete daylight. I'm no drug dealer, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't wanna be hanging around in the middle of the day."

"Good point. If they did force her to take it to get her hooked, why specifically her? If she'd been wandering near the docks at that point, then it'd make a little more sense. But she was nowhere near them."

"...We don't know that."

"Huh?"

Ness rounded the desk and fetched the case file, which was now a bit thicker from the notes he'd taken. He scanned over the first document that stated the circumstances of the death.

"She was found under the docks, yes? The only way she could've gotten there was either by falling or being pushed from the boardwalk, or by climbing from the rocks nearby." Ness said, "We searched the area for evidence, assuming that she'd been pushed or something, right? We didn't even think to examine the rocks. A single footprint or handprint on any rock could tell us the answer on whether she went to the dens willingly or not."

"Oooohh, good call!" Ninten breathed, "And if there's visible signs of a scuffle, that means she was brought down there by force!"

"Well then, we've got no time to lose. Come along, Ninten, the night's still young. We're gonna go look at some rocks."

* * *

"Nothing. Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing. Nada. Zero. Ness, I'm  _tired!_ "

"We've been here for five minutes, Ninten, just keep looking."

Ninten groaned as he carefully looked over each boulder and pebble, trying to find anything that resembled the markings of a shoe. The dark orange hue of the sky wasn't helping. Below them was the original base of the crime scene, complete with bright yellow tape closing off the area. A stake was planted in the ground to mark where Nana had perished. Just nearby was the ocean, gently lapping at the sand, and above them was the wooden boardwalk. A fall from such a height could definitely cause damage. Along with the few large rocks planted in the sand here and there, striking one of those could easily kill a person.

' _Blunt force trauma..._ ' Ness thought back to the autopsy. There was a possible reason for the bruise, he thought. Nana could have fallen, or been pushed. But the events would be all out of order, he thought. If she was killed by the trauma, then she wouldn't have been able to consume drugs. Perhaps she didn't fall at all, and she was simply beaten to death with the flashlight.

"Hey, Ness? Lookie." Ninten called from a place near the boardwalk. Ness perked up and slowly approached, intrigued.

"You found somethin'?"

"Multiple somethings, yeah. Look here," Ninten pointed to a flat surface on one of the wet rocks, "Definitely a shoe print, you can see it in the mud. But look at what it does; it slides down. Like a shoe had scraped against it."

Ninten was right. The impression mark looked like someone had pressed a shoe against the rock and slid it down. Ness tipped his head to the side to get a better look, and set down a pin to mark the place.

"The impression just keeps sliding down. There's no way someone would be able to keep their balance at that point. Someone fell here." Ness said, "Thin shoe, pointed tip. Shoe heels. The same ones Nana was wearing."

"So...she slipped coming down here." Ninten said. "That's what killed her."

"Not quite. If she died after slipping, she wouldn't have been able to get to the dens, and she wouldn't have taken anything." Ness pointed out, "Plus, look at the way the point is facing. The tip of the shoe is facing up, meaning that she was trying to climb  _out_  of here, not in when she fell."

"Nice catch, I totally missed that." Ninten said, "Here's what else I found. Look here; there's clearly a usual pathway that lots of people take to get down here, because the rocks are all pressed down and eroded from all the people stepping on them. Look at the most recent impressions." Ninten pointed to a similar footprint to the first one, "There's Nana's shoe. But then, look at the other ones."

Ness squinted to look again, and saw what Ninten was talking about. Within the freshest set of prints were two other sets. One, with a broad, flat sole, and the other with a patterned, casual sole.

"Huh." Ness murmured, "I can definitely identify the patterned ones; those are sneakers."

"Do we know anyone involved who wears sneakers?"

"Yep. Lucas. These could be his, they're possibly from when he climbed down here to get the keys he dropped." Ness said, "I'll ask him to come in for print testing later."

"Right. Anyways, then, there's the flat ones. Those are clearly formal shoes." Ninten said, "Look at how shaped they are. Men's, I'd say."

"...Lucas and Claus said they brought their father down here to come check it out, maybe they're his?" Ness wondered.

"Could be. Maybe it's from one of the officers who came to the crime scene." Ninten said.

"No, they used ladders to get down here to avoid tampering with evidence."

After a few moments of snapping some quick pictures and jotting down anything they could, the boys quickly exited the scene by climbing up the collection of rocks. As Ness bent down to help Ninten up, he looked around at how far up they were.

"Poor girl. It would've sucked to fall all the way down there." Ness murmured, "Who would do such a thing to her?"

"I mean, she was in a pretty high up position." Ninten reminded as they began to walk, "I spoke to my sisters the other day, apparently some of the girls who sung there were pretty jealous. You know, she was the boss's favourite and all."

"...Oh?"

"Yep. Mimmie and Minnie were apparently pretty jealous too. Always talked about not getting as much pay as she did. That's a little fucked, now that you think about it." Ninten replied with an edge in his voice, "I guess...now they don't have to worry about that, huh?"

"It would seem so." Ness said. "It's late. Go home, Ninten, rest up. We'll get back to this tomorrow."

* * *

The next day, Ness could recognize Claus' voice from outside his office already. He sighed and placed his fingers to his temples. It was the third time Claus had been there that day, and it wasn't even noon yet. Ness let his forehead hit the desk and groaned.

 _"Please...go...home...and...let...the...police...handle it..._ " Ness muttered, thumping his head against the desk with each word. Seeing that it was his case, it only made sense that he was the one to go ease the redhead. Ness slowly got up from his chair, straightened his collar, and slowly made his way out of the office. Upon making his way to the foyer, he already saw Claus' hair. He prepared to step in and send the boy home, but suddenly stopped when he realized who was with him.

Claus was being forcefully held back by two officers, hands behind his back and cuffed. He didn't seem to be struggling, but he was clearly displeased with the treatment. Once Claus spotted him, he began to wriggle a bit, almost looking excited to see Ness. As the officers led him to the back hallway towards the interrogation rooms, Ness followed.

"Look, there he is! He'll understand! Officer, hey!" Claus called, "Tell these guys to let me go, why don't you?"

"Whoa, calm down, Claus," Ness held a hand up to silence him, "What'd you do to get yourself  _arrested?_ "

" _Helping,_  that's what I was doing." Claus spat. Ness turned to one of the officers, who shook her head.

"He's been taken under custody for resisting arrest, trespassing, attempted robbery, and possession of drugs." She explained. Ness turned to Claus, alarmed.

"What?!" Ness breathed. The officer retrieved a plastic bag from her pocket, handing it to Ness. He examined the bag, and saw that inside of it was a much smaller bag containing what looked like salt. Ness realized that he was looking at bath salts. "Claus, what're you doing with this stuff?"

"It's not mine!" Claus urged, "I'd explain myself, but these guys won't believe me!"

"We found him poking around the inside of The Seventh Needle nightclub after the security alarm went off. The owner's office, more specifically." The officer continued. Ness' blood ran cold.

' _Duster's office?_ ' Ness thought, "Here, I'll take Claus in for questioning. Give him here."

"But he-"

Ness cut off the confused officer, "He is a direct link in the Nana Karalee case. I'd like to do my job, please. Let me have him."

Upon receiving the order, Claus was reluctantly passed over to Ness, who settled his grip on Claus' handcuffed wrists. He dismissed the two officers before leading Claus down the rest of the hallway. Claus, clearly trusting of Ness, went along without any struggle. It wasn't until they entered the familiar office when Ness spoke.

"Turn around." He said as he locked the door, before approaching Claus.

"Oh, thanks," Claus replied as he heard the click of a small lock being shifted. Ness slid the restraints off of Claus' wrists and set them aside. Claus gently massaged the sore areas, "...You sure you're okay with taking those off?"

"You're not dangerous. From what I know about you, there's a reason for all of this, not just malice. Go ahead and spill." Ness gestured to him.

"Right, well," Claus took a seat, "Like I said, _that Flakka isn't mine._ "

"Calm down, I believe you." Ness assured, "But I'm sure you understand why I'm a bit concerned about...you getting arrested for clearly trespassing."

"Yyyyeah...now that I'm chilled out a bit, I'm starting to realize how dumb that was." Claus said, rubbing the back of his neck, "Let's just say I was doin' a little investigating of my own."

"Claus, dear lord, I  _assure_  you that we are doing all we can...!"

"Actually, I don't think you are! Because if you were, you wouldn't have found out that this Duster guy is a dealer."

Ness went still.

"Come again?"

"I knew that guy had somethin' to do with all this, so I...let myself in. The place was closed." Claus admitted, "I looked around his office for at least ten minutes before I found that little baggie. Then...y'know, I got caught."

"You're saying you found this in Duster's office?" Ness asked, picking up the bag again and looking at it, "...Was this the only one?"

"The only one I could find, yeah. But there's gotta be more, I know it." Claus insisted.

Ness stared at the tiny white crystals in confusion. He hadn't conducted a search because he didn't have enough evidence, not to mention that Duster was out of town. Leaning the side of his face into his elbow, Ness furrowed his brow and struggled to put the pieces together.

"Claus...something you should know, is..." Ness trailed off, "Nana was found with traces of bath salts in her system. Before she died, she'd taken a huge dose."

"What?! Impossible!" Claus breathed.

"Quite the contrary, science doesn't lie. Listen here," Ness was quick to explain everything that he and Ninten had discovered at the docks. Claus listened intently the whole time, leaning over the desk with his hands clasped. Upon seeing the photographs Ness had taken, he nodded.

"Nana wore shoe heels all the time. And those other prints are definitely Lucas'." Claus said, "So...you're saying she was near the dens, then?"

"Precisely. My theory used to be this: Nana went down there, shot up, left, and tried to climb back up. However, she slipped, hit a rock, and died. One of the dealers over there found her and didn't know what to do with the body, so they dressed her up to make it look like someone else did it." Ness explained, "But...I'm thinking maybe that's not the case."

"No shit, it's not the case!" Claus exclaimed, "Nana dies after taking bath salts, then it turns out Duster just happens to have some?"

"Claus-"

"That piece of shit is the one who gave it to her, don't you get it?!"

"But we still need to think about-"

"No! Plain and simple, he's the guy!" Claus insisted, "That bastard killed my best friend!"

* * *

Ness had managed to get Claus out of jail time, justifying his actions as 'assistance to the investigation'. While the trespassing charge could easily result in five or six months, Claus was limited to a good few sentences of community service. At least it got the fiery boy out to clear his head instead of stressing himself out with the case. After discovering Duster's direct involvement, Ness launched into action. After finding out that the nightclub owner had been staying just a few cities over, Ness grabbed Ninten and some backup before setting off.

The only word Ness could use to describe the situation was sympathy. When they tracked down the hotel Duster was staying at, the poor man was incredibly intoxicated, and barely seemed to care as he was taken into custody. Duster simply looked miserable. Ness had never lost a loved one before, but if this is what it did to a person, he never wanted to go through that. The entire way back to Onett was silent and somber. Even as he was lift in one of the interrogation rooms to wait for questioning, Duster was silent, laying his head on the table.

When the time eventually came, Ness sat directly beside Duster, while Ninten sat across from him, watching every bit of movement in the mirror behind the suspect. Ignoring the buzzing of the lights above and the stuffy, uncomfortable air, Ness took a breath, settled his hands in his lap, and looked to Ninten to signal that he was starting. Ninten nodded, turned on a nearby recording device, and positioned his pencil and notepad.

"State your name." Ness said. Duster shifted a bit, not looking away from the ground.

"...You already know it." He slurred.

"State your name, _please._ " Ness repeated. Duster eyed him for a moment, before sighing.

"Duster Van Wolfe." He replied.

"Earlier, you were taken under custody for possession of synthetic cathinones and the suspicion of dealing to the victim. Do you deny your involvement?" Ness asked. Duster bit his lip.

"...No." Duster said.

"And why did you do this?" Ness asked, softening his tone to try and ease the suspect.

"I think that's should've been obvious." Duster replied.

Ness took another deep breath, ditching the original question, "Duster, did you or did you not kill Nana Karalee?"

" _Of course I didn't!_ " Duster exclaimed, suddenly full of life. "That girl was the daughter I never had, got it?!"

"Please calm yourself. The smoother your cooperation is, the faster you can get out of here." Ness said.

" _I didn't kill her._ " Duster said, seemingly ignoring the question.

"Okay," Ness replied to try and calm him, "Then please explain your reasoning for dealing an alarming dose of this drug."

"I didn't _deal_  it, just to clarify. I don't do stuff like that." Duster explained. He trailed off, sighing.

"Then what exactly were you doing with it?" Ness asked. A few seconds ticked by with no answer, "You've already got a sentence on the line, Duster. You're not losing anything."

Duster hesitated for a few moments, debating with everything going through his head. Eventually, he groaned in frustration and threw his hands in the air.

"I was desperate, alright?" Duster urged.

"For what?"

"Nana, she was...she was so tired..." Duster explained, "She came running late into work, sh-she was sobbing, she felt so bad..."

"And?"

"She said that she had forgotten to pick up her meds, so her narcolepsy was acting up." Duster said, "I couldn't stand seeing her so upset about being late, so...I-I remembered the effects of bath salts, knowing that it could make you all fired up and energized..."

Ness and Ninten shared a quick, alarmed glance. Both boys immediately caught on.

"...So...I-I brought Nana down there, to the d-dens...I told her that if she took this stuff, she'd be alright..." Duster stammered, beginning to choke up, "...B-By the time we got back, she was so sick... she was shaking, and crying, and...she said her head hurt. In the end, I just told her to take the day off."

"So you just acted completely oblivious when we came to question you the first time? You knew that she was under the influence, and you just let her go?" Ness asked. Duster grit his teeth.

" _Y-Yes..._ " Duster rasped, "And when you said she was killed, I-I knew it was my fault...I let her go home alone..."

Ness went quiet for a moment. His eyes trailed down to the floor, catching sight of Duster's shoes. Shaped sole, flat bottom. Ness' skin began to prickle.

' _The footprints._ ' Ness thought grimly, ' _They were Duster's._ '

Duster had started tearing up at this point. The defeated man sat there, shivering.

"J-Just put me in a cell and be done with it..." He choked, "...There's nothing left for me anyways..."

And so, that's what they did. They called a few officers to apprehend him, and moments later, Duster was gone.

Ness and Ninten left the room silently, both too stunned to say anything. This was definitely not what they had been expecting. The two partners slowly made their way back to the office, where Ness took a seat behind the desk, and Ninten seated himself across from him. Ninten stared blankly down at the notepad. The page barely had anything written on it. He'd never been part of such a quick interrogation. He gripped his pencil, looking up to see Ness glaring at the desk, jaw rested in his palm. Ninten clicked his teeth and leaned back in his chair.

"...He just..." Ninten murmured, "... _Admitted_  to it."

"I'm just as shocked as you are." Ness replied softly.

"Do you think he's the one who killed her?" Ninten asked. Ness pondered for a moment.

"...No." Ness concluded, "He had no reason to. No evidence at the murder scene pointed to him, only the footprints."

"No fingerprints? No artifacts? Nothing?" Ninten asked.

"We didn't find any prints, no. Her body was coated in salt, clearly from the ocean. Someone either washed off the evidence themselves or the tide came in and did it."

"Dammit." Ninten sighed, eyes dark and brow furrowed.

"...Are you alright?" Ness asked, "You look pissed."

"What's gonna happen to the nightclub?" Ninten asked, "Mimmie and Minnie could lose their jobs if that place closes down."

"Ninten, that place is powerful, with a powerful family behind it. Nothing's gonna happen to it." Ness assured. "If Claus hadn't exposed this whole thing, then Duster could've possibly hurt more people."

"Right, right." Ninten sighed, "Claus is the red one, right?"

Ness snickered, "Yeah, and Lucas is the blond one." He glanced away. It had been a while since he'd seen Lucas. He smiled. Ninten, noticing this, raised a brow. Ness glanced up, noticing Ninten's somewhat playful smirk. He looked around, confused. "...What?"

"I'm not blind, Ness." Ninten said, "I can see what's going on with you two."

"Psh! What? We-? You-?  _Huh?_ " Ness stammered, tensing up with a nervous laugh, "Get outta town, Ninten."

"Are you saying that  _kiss_  I saw the other day was by accident?" Ninten asked.

" _You saw that? I thought the door was closed..._ " Ness breathed, gripping at his hair.

"The door _was_  closed, but those blinds weren't." Ninten pointed to the windows behind Ness, who began to stammer again.

"W-Well, I-I was just...we weren't...u-um..."

"Ness, it's okay. My lips are sealed." Ninten crossed a finger over his heart, "I kinda got that vibe from you when we met."

"I have a  _vibe?_ " Ness muttered, before hiding his face in his hands, "...I could get in so much shit for this."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Ninten assured.

"Paula's the only other person who knows that I'm...y'know,  _like this._ " Ness admitted, before suddenly gasping, "A-And Ninten, don't say anything to anybody about Lucas, alright? He's already been teased for a good portion of his life for being kinda girly and all, and if someone found out about this whole thing, then...!"

" _Oh my god_ , calm down!" Ninten teased, leaning over the desk and grabbing Ness' hands, "You're fine, Lucas is fine, it's all fine."

Ness bit his lip and nodded, "...Mmhmm."

"You just need to take some time to relax, alright? We figured out a big part of the case today. Just give yourself a break, and don't worry about anything. We're getting there."

* * *

The next day, no one had expected the events that unfolded.

Ness had been analyzing, as always. It was a quiet day, with not that much activity going on around the station. Ness remembered that it had been a rainy, cloudy day. Everyone had gone about their business as usual. Life simply milled around, as usual.

But at around 9 in the morning, the quiet air was suddenly replaced with bloodcurdling, hysterical shrieks.

Ness instantly looked up from his work. His hair stood on end as he instantly recognized the voice.

". _..Lucas..._ "

Ness quickly got to his feet and wasted no time sprinting out of the office. He nearly fell several times as he rushed down the hallways. Eventually, he burst into the foyer, where a large amount of people, mainly civilians, had formed a crowd. Ness hastily pushed past them, growing more and more frightened.

"Please remain calm and let the OPD handle it-!" Ness relayed the simple phrase as he navigated through the crowd. When he finally made it past the onlookers, Ness instantly spotted Lucas, crouched on his knees and curled up. Ness quickly knelt down, "Lucas! Lucas, what's going on?! Someone get a nurse, please!"

As several officers rushed to retrieve medical help, Ness put a firm arm around Lucas' shoulders to make sure the boy didn't lash out it any way. Lucas jumped a bit, startled by Ness' sudden presence. His face was tearstained, and his hair was in a tangle. Lucas was breathing heavily, clearly having trouble. He was shaking violently as he continued to sob.

"Lucas, it's me...! We're gonna get you help, okay? Just tell me what happened-!" Ness insisted.

"No, no,  _no, no...! No!_ " Lucas shrieked, shaking his head. He was gripping his skin so tightly, Ness could see patches of blood showing through his shirt. Ness grabbed hold of Lucas' wrists to stop him from causing any more damage. Lucas' cries had faded, but now he was glaring down at the floor, was murmuring a long line of incoherent words. Ness, still holding onto him, looked around for any officers to give him information.

"Does  _anyone_  know what went on here?" Ness called. No one seemed to hear his question, as the crowd had begun panicking. Eventually, two of the onsite nurses broke through the crowd and came to Lucas' aid, each fastening an arm around him to keep him under control. Upon feeling their touch, Lucas freaked out again, beginning to thrash to try and escape. As they got him to his feet and escorted him elsewhere, Ness stood up and followed for a few steps, "T-Take care of him!"

As the sound of Lucas' screams faded into one of the back hallways, Ness stared on in terror. His protective instincts were at an all time high, seeing Lucas in such a state. His imagination began to put together scenarios that could've happened, but a familiar voice alerted him.

"N-Ness...!"

It was Ninten. Ness turned to greet the face of his partner, but recoiled in shock. Ninten had one hand clamped over his cheek, a few smears of blood coating his fingers. Ness rushed to him, immediately concerned.

"Ninten, what the hell is going on? Ness demanded, slowly nudging Ninten's hand away to observe the wound. A long scratch trailed down the side of his face, and was bleeding heavily.

"Lucas totally lost it, he came at me...caught my face with a fingernail." Ninten explained.

"Jesus, what'd he attack you for? He's not that kind of guy!"

Ninten bit his lip, hesitating, "...Well..." He grimly began, "Lucas came here about three hours ago to file a missing persons report."

Ness' face went pale, "...A-A missing person?"

"Yeah. I went out to look around, and...safe to say, I found him." Ninten's eyes darkened, "Ness, Claus is dead. He's been murdered."


	4. A Story of More Woe

Ness stared down into the ditch and the crumpled heap of a body that laid face down within it. He watched as those in charge proceeded to retrieve the body. Beside him, Ninten stood perfectly still. As Claus was lifted from the ground, his head only fell to the side, completely devoid of life. His red hair was matted by the mud. Ness couldn't see his face, but he knew exactly what had happened just by one thing alone.

"His hands." Ness murmured, "They're gone."

Right he was. All that was left were two bloody ends. Ninten shuddered and looked to the ground, unable to face the scene anymore. Ness faced him, feeling a sudden pang of sympathy. He put a hand on his shoulder, rubbing a bit to try and comfort him.

"You okay?" Ness asked softly.

"As much as that kid annoyed the fuck outta me..." Ninten muttered, "He really did bring in the passion."

"Not to mention, if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have gotten such a huge break." Ness added.

"This can't be a coincidence." Ninten said as he watched the EMS vehicle drive off, "Claus discovers a huge factor in the case, then he's killed?"

"This killer clearly knows what we're up to." Ness said. "I hate to say it, but I don't think he knew exactly what he was getting himself into."

"Clearly." Ninten sighed. As they began to follow the path back to the station, he gave a small, bittersweet smile, "You said he always wanted to be a cop, right?"

"According to Lucas."

"He would've been a good cop. Just put him through police training, keep that passion and dedication, and we'd have ourselves a perfect officer."

"Well..." Ness paused, trying to be positive in any way possible, "...At least he got to see what it was like."

"I suppose." Ninten said. He suddenly drew in a sharp breath and yanked his hand back, "Ow...!"

"What happened?"

"My finger caught my zipper...ouch, geez..." Ninten hissed, pressing his palm over the small cut, which was beginning to bleed.

"Here, don't mess up your clothes," Ness quickly retrieved his handkerchief from his pocket and took Ninten's hand, cleaning the blood from his small wound. Ninten made a face as Ness stuffed the cloth back into his coat.

"Ew." Ninten grimaced.

"Oh, don't be such a girl, it's blood. We're cops, we see it every day." Ness teased, in an attempt to try and lighten up the mood.

"Euugh. Blood gets me squeamish." Ninten admitted, shuddering, "I'm kind of a wuss, really. It's why I only did stuff like robberies and frauds for a while. I hate all the violence that comes with homicides, especially when we have to fight someone. I'm such a pacifist, if I'm being honest. I wouldn't hurt a fly."

' _How the hell did this poor kid make it through police training?_ ' Ness thought, genuinely curious. "So why'd you sign up to do a homicide case in the first place?"

"I didn't; I was called in. I was already in Onett for a few months to study forensics. Your team heard I was in the area, and my chief told 'em that I needed to expand my resume a bit. Bada bing, bada boom, I'm your partner." Ninten said, "Safe to say, I'm doing a lot better than I thought I would."

"You're doing great." Ness assured, feeling sympathy, "You really are a good partner. I'll be sure to put in a good word for you after we solve this thing."

Ninten gave him a bittersweet smile. At that point, the last police vehicle had taken off, leaving them alone. Ness, motioning with his shoulder, prompted him to follow as they began to make their way back to the city. He took one last glance at the messy crime scene and stifled a sigh. Ninten, hands in his pockets, looked at him.

"...What now, then?" Ninten murmured.

"We gotta talk to Lucas, pronto. Here's hoping he hasn't completely lost it in the head." Ness sighed.

"Sounds good enough to me." Replied Ninten. Saying nothing else, the pair continued down the roadside, more questions arising in their minds than answers.

* * *

"Officer, thank god you're here. Please come with me."

Ness was immediately greeted by an onsite nurse when he entered the department. He perked up, curious, as she grabbed his arm and tugged him along. She looked noticeably out of breath and disheveled. He sent a nod towards Ninten, who nodded back. Ness then sped up his pace to keep up with the hasty nurse.

"Hold on just a second…!" Ness said, "What's going on? Am I needed?"

"Desperately." The nurse replied, making a sharp right turn, "The Lucas boy is completely unresponsive. He's showing clear signs of catatonia. Whenever we ask him a question, he only replies saying that he wants to talk to you. Nothing else, no matter what we say. He 'wants to speak with Officer Wyman, please.' That's it."

Ness' heart sank as his fears came true. Praying that Lucas' mind wasn't going to endure any damage, he walked even faster, "Right, fine. I'll talk to him right away."

When Ness was led into a closed off room, he spotted the hunched over form of Lucas right away. He thanked the nurse quietly, closed the door, made sure it was locked, and rushed to Lucas' side. The poor boy was sitting completely still on the checkup bed, once again wrapped in a shock blanket, like last time. His head hung and his feet dangled off the side of the bed carelessly. Ness had never seen another human being look so utterly defeated in his entire life. He took off his hat and set it aside. There was only quiet for a few seconds. Lucas didn't even acknowledge him being there. Ness didn't quite know how to begin. He cleared his throat.

"...Lucas…" He murmured, "You there?"

To his relief, Lucas shifted from his position, straightening up only slightly. Lucas only slightly turned his head, still not looking at him. He nodded. Ness drew in his bottom lip and took a step towards him.

"Lucas, are you okay?" Ness asked. He regretted it soon after. Of course he wasn't okay, you dumbass, he thought. He just lost his brother. Nonetheless, Lucas responded. The blond looked as if he was on the verge of tears.

"I might as well be." Lucas muttered, voice crackly. He wiped his eyes and leaned his face into the palm of his hands, resting his elbows on his thighs. Ness sat next to him and didn't hesitate to fasten an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close.

"I'm...I'm so  _sorry,_  Lucas. I don't even know what to say." Ness said.

"It wasn't your doing." Lucas assured. He let his hands drop as he looked up to the ceiling. His blue eyes were now glimmery and wet, "I can't believe it. He's gone."

"I know. But Lucas, look at me," Ness put a hand on his cheek and turned his head so that they locked eyes, "We  _will_  find who did this, and they  _will_  receive the consequences."

"Damn right." Lucas spat. Ness had never seen his gaze so dark and fiery before. This was different from when he'd found Nana. Lucas not only looked terrified; he looked furious. He looked dangerous. Ness took his hand, assured that no one else was around.

"I know this is the last thing you wanna hear from me after losing him, but…" Ness began, hesitating, "The sooner we answer some questions, the sooner this thing gets solved."

"Go ahead." Lucas replied weakly.

"W-Well, to start," Ness said, "When did you see him last?"

Lucas took a moment to reflect. He shuddered, "...He came home from the station yesterday evening. He told me about how he got out of jail time and all that. Then, he left to go to that quick meeting you guys had."

Ness furrowed his brow, disturbed, "..Meeting? With me?"

"Yeah, you and your investigation partner called Claus over so that you could talk about things. I figured he must've been killed after that, because you would've started looking for him if he hadn't shown up." Lucas relayed. Ness was quiet for a few seconds. He debated on answering, but his morality gave in.

"Lucas…" Ness wavered, "...We never called any sort of meeting."

Lucas, who had been staring at the floor, whipped his head up in alarmed confusion.

"W-What? Yes you did!" Lucas insisted, his eyes beginning to water again.

"Neither of us called him-"

"Don't start doing this to me, Ness! He said, clear as day, that you two wanted to see him! Don't you dare start telling me I'm crazy!"

"Lucas, I didn't-!"

" _My brother is dead, and this is how you act!_ "

Ness realized that Lucas was about to go into another fit of shock, as the blond once again started to become hysteric. Horrified at the mental toll Claus' demise had taken on Lucas, Ness tried to restrain the poor boy as much as he could before throwing the door open and calling for a nurse to come quick. In seconds, the room was packed with medical staff. It took the strength of Ness and three other nurses to keep Lucas down, as he delved back into what almost seemed like madness. Ness despairingly watched as Lucas' leg was forcefully pinned to the side and a syringe was forced into the thigh. Lucas continued to squirm and sob, growing quieter and quieter until, not even five minutes later, he fell silent. Ness, propping himself up over top of him, took a moment to catch his breath. Lucas had put up an incredible fight; he was definitely going to have some bruises the next morning. He turned to look at the syringe that had been placed on the table.

"...Did you really have to sedate him?" Ness breathed, panting.

"If we hadn't done something, he could have hurt someone, or himself. Midazolam isn't anything too dangerous, not to worry." One of the nurses replied, "What on Earth did you say to him?"

"N-Nothing. He's just...he's grieving." Ness said, "Please just keep him under control until he begins to recover. I can't imagine what must be going on inside his head."

As Ness quickly shuffled out of the hospital ward, hands stuffed in his pockets and his heart still pounding from the frightening episode, his mind dwelled on what Lucas had told him. It all came down to one conclusion, and it was a conclusion he didn't want to make. But seeing Lucas so defeated only motivated him more. Ness had no choice.

' _I gotta talk to Ninten._ ' He thought.

* * *

Ninten listened intently as Ness went on, only glancing down to light his cigarette. He took a long drag and let it exit his lungs slowly. Everything felt slow, even Ness, who was pacing around the office. With each word he said, his arm movements became more animated. It wasn't anywhere near late afternoon yet. He sat upon Ness' desk, swinging his legs. Mind still spinning from the discovery of Claus, he took in everything Ness had to say.

"So just to be certain, I'm going to take a blood sample from Claus' body. We never know if the original killer recreated the work of their copycat just to throw us off." Ness explained, "Then we'll know if Claus' murder is up to us, or the other team investigating the original."

Ninten nodded, flicking away some excess ash.

"Good call." He agreed, "Did you talk to Lucas?"

"I was just getting to that. I went to speak with him, and…" Ness hesitated, "...The poor thing. He's usually so sunny and full of life. He was always rather quiet, but...today, he was just…"

"Just empty?" Ninten suggested.

"Yes, that's a good word to use. He was still quiet, just not...Lucas." Ness relented. His pacing slowed, "This is where it gets interesting. I went to talk with him, and asked him where he'd seen Claus last. Turns out, last place he saw him alive was at home, after he received a puzzling phone call."

"What kind?"

"He was called in for a meeting."

"Nothing too scary."

"Just wait, though." Ness said, "Ninten, he said that Claus was called by us. Apparently, we asked him to come here, to the station."

Ninten froze. Brows knitted, he paused mid-inhale and looked at Ness with a bewildered face, "...Did  _you_  call him?"

"No, did  _you?"_

"No!"

"That's what scares me!" Ness breathed, "Someone pretended to be us to try and lure Claus away. Whoever it was must've been really good at impersonations, because Lucas said Claus just went with it without any hesitation. He must've really believed it was us."

"Or, someone pretended to be giving the message  _for_  us." Ninten reminded, "Someone could've easily pretended to be a receptionist or something, relaying the request to Claus."

"That's also true." Ness said, "...But I've been thinking, and I don't know if you'll like it."

"Have at me. Today's already been shitty."

"Well," Ness began, "Lucas said Claus didn't seem reluctant at all. He just went. Which has me thinking; Claus called us several times each day, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd known the number by heart."

"...So?"

"So, if someone called, claiming to be the OPD, don't you think he'd find it a little weird if he was being called by a number that wasn't ours?"

Ninten wavered, "...You think…?"

"I'm hesitant, but it's a possibility." Ness concluded, "Claus willingly left because he recognized our number. He was called by someone here.

"You mean you think the person who killed Claus...i-is one of us? The OPD, I mean?" Ninten shivered.

"Or, they could simply be an accomplice; a helper. Corrupt police have existed before." Ness replied, "We both already know it wasn't you or me. I sure as hell don't know anyone here who'd do such a thing, though. Who's the most connected to the case besides you and I?"

"Your pretty coroner friend seems to be really into it." Ninten suggested.

"Who, Paula?" Ness asked, dumbfounded, "What the hell would  _Paula_  be gaining from this?"

"I dunno! I've never done a homicide case before, I don't know who would do what! It was just a suggestion!" Ninten shrugged, "In mystery novellas, the culprit is always the one you least suspect. I least suspect Paula."

"Ninten, in _real_  life, we usually go after the ones we  _most_  suspect." Ness bluntly said, "Why would Paula, a  _coroner_ , who sees dead bodies  _every day_ , need to kill someone?"

"Claus  _did_  get under her skin a lot." Ninten reminded, "She always talked about how much she hated him. She really,  _really_ hated him. Like, a lot."

"But to go as far as to _kill_ him? And to go through the trouble of copying the copycat?" Ness asked.

"It's not impossible! Think about it; we knew there was a copycat in the first place because there was an inconsistency in the pattern. Well, we just found  _another_  hole in said pattern! All the other victims were female, but oh, what's this? Claus was a dude."

"So you're saying that Paula tried to copy the copycat, who was copying the original killer?" Ness asked.

"Precisely." Ninten said, "And like you said, she's a coroner. She, of all people, would know exactly what to do with the body to hide the evidence."

"All of that is complete  _bull_ , and you know it." Ness rolled his eyes. Ninten shrugged again.

"Everyone's a suspect." He said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Listen, I'll humor you. I have to go see Paula later on anyways, just to get some samples tested. I'll question her a bit." Ness offered.

"You do that." Ninten said, giving a small wave as Ness briskly exited the room.

* * *

Ness sat across from Paula. He placed the two samples he'd taken on the table and slid them over to her. She eyed them, before looking up at Ness with a raised eyebrow.

"These are from…?" She trailed off.

"One of them is from Claus' body, the other is from his wrist wounds. If his killer was following the same pattern as before, then the sample from the wrists should be different." Ness said.

"I can get these to the forensics team, then." Paula said as she folded the two slides into a sheet of parchment and stuck it into her pocket, "Man, oh man. Do I feel sorry for  _you_."

"It's not that big of a roadblock," Ness sighed, "Get this. The poor kid was literally lured from his house and killed."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Which is why…" Ness' eyes darkened as he took out his notepad, "I'm gonna have to ask you a couple of questions,  _Ms. Polestar-Jones._ "

Paula didn't move, her expression unchanging, "I didn't do it."

"Just…! Pretend to be intimidated, at least? It makes me feel powerful." Ness complained, breaking out of character, "Ninten thinks it's you."

"Fine, fine." Paula sighed, before replacing her irritated expression with one of fear and anxiety, "...W-Whatever do you mean, Officer? What questions?"

Ness narrowed his eyes again, "According to witness reports, Claus was contacted by someone claiming to be Ninten and I. This person asked him to come to the department for an emergency interrogation session. Instead, he was heading right for his death."

"...Oh?"

"Yes. But what has me worried is that he wouldn't have left in the first place if he knew it wasn't us. This means that Claus was called by someone with access to our phones."

"Are you saying that someone from the OPD called him?" Paula asked.

"Yep. And that person wasn't me or Ninten." Ness said. He leaned forwards, " _What's your motive, Paula?_ "

"Will you stop it?" Paula pushed him away, rolling her eyes, "You know damn well it wasn't me."

"I know, I know. But I promised Ninten I'd question you." Ness sighed, pocketing his notepad, "Anyways, there. That's what happened. Claus was tricked into leaving by someone with access to the phones."

"That's fucked." Paula said, "Any ideas on who?"

"Not a single one." Ness said, "I wanna talk to Lucas again, because he watched the phone call happen. Maybe get some more info."

"Yeah, but word has it that the kid lost it. Like, he's gone off-the-walls crazy."

"No he hasn't. People can get hysterical when they're grieving. Remember, he  _just_  found out his  _brother_  died. Like, seriously." Ness said, "Once he recovers a bit more, I'll speak to him again."

"So be it." Paula said, pushing back her chair and getting to her feet, "Well, I'm off. Is that all you needed? Or are you gonna accuse me of assassinating the president while you're at it?"

"No, you're free to go. I don't know why Ninten was so hung up on it, you aren't exactly-" Ness went silent as he put his hand in his pocket. His fingers rested against the handkerchief he'd used to clean Ninten's wound. A slight wave of dizziness washed over him, as he began to delve into his own thoughts. As Paula watched and waited for him to say something, Ness slowly drew the handkerchief from his pocket. He looked down and observed the patch of red smeared over it. Ness drew in his lip. "...Um...wait, no that's not all." He held the tissue towards her, "Is this enough for a sample test?"

"Wow, ew, thank you for showing me the after effects of your nosebleed." Paula recoiled, brow furrowed.

"No, it's not my blood, it's…" Ness hesitated, "...Someone else's."

Paula eyed the napkin a while longer, before hesitantly taking hold of it between two fingers, "...A suspect?"

Ness opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. He snapped out of his trance and shook his head, "Y-You know what? Forget it, it's fine. It's just some tissue I found on the floor."

"Um...okay, sure." Paula said, "I'll throw it out for you."

"Thanks. I need to head out." Ness stood up, quickly gathered his things, and took off for the door, "You're a real lifesaver, Paula!"

Once he was gone, Paula continued staring at the door. She blinked, surprised at her friend's manic behaviour. She then looked down at the handkerchief and turned it over in her palm. With a hum of consideration, she turned around, preparing to head for the forensics lab. On her way out, she passed by the examination room. Through the door, she just barely caught a glance of the autopsy tables, one of which held a covered body. She could see the red hue of Claus' hair sticking out from under the sheet. Feeling another stab of pity for the poor boy, she continued on her way.

* * *

Ness shuffled quickly through the halls to get to his office. The station was nearly empty; it was quite late. He kept his eyes downcast and his hands in his pockets. His mind was racing with thought after thought, each one calling to him. He kept thinking about the events that had happened in just a few hours. As he entered the empty office and closed the door behind him, he gave a sigh as he leaned back against the door. The room was quiet, only filled by the ticking of the clock. Ness, just needing to rest for a moment, hung up his coat and closed his eyes, still leaning against the door. To his right, he saw a patch of yellow.

"Hm?" He hummed to himself as he noticed a yellow sticky note placed on the wall. He instantly recognized the messy scrawls as Ninten's handwriting.

_Left the station a bit early tonight. See you tomorrow._

_-N_

Ness sighed. Normally, he would've been displeased by his partner deciding to take off so spontaneously, but he couldn't find the energy to be upset with him. After all, he thought, Ninten was a pacifist. All this talk of death and such must've been taking a toll on him. Ness stretched out his arms as he walked over to his desk. It was too late for this, he thought.

Upon it, he saw the case file. He traced a finger over it as he sat down. It had been a while since he'd look at it. He flipped it open and glanced over the contents. He saw the countless notes he'd taken over the last few weeks. To the left side, he saw the incident form. He scanned over it, as he'd done before.

**_NANA KARALEE CASE_ **

**_Victim Name: Natasha "Nana" Karalee_ **

**_Age: 22_ **

**_Sex: Female_ **

**_Cause of Death: Lacerations to the wrists and alleged blunt force trauma_ **

The usual, he thought. He'd read it several times, hoping that maybe the answer laid within the text. He continued looking over it.

**ALLEGED T.O.D: 6:00 - 9:00 PM, May 27th, 1924**

**CRIMINAL MOTIVE: Unknown**

**CRIMINAL IDENTITY: Unknown**

**LEADS: Unknown**

**ARTIFACTS: Unknown**

Ness frowned. He hated that word; 'Unknown'. The word that graced the majority of the file. He couldn't stand it. Even with all of the notes and evidence he'd taken disproving such a word, he still hated seeing it on the original file. He leaned his chin in his hand and he began to read over it again. It was satisfying, looking back at where he'd started. He enjoyed looking over the questions that were previously unanswered. His eyes drifted to the bottom of the page.

**_CASE AUTHORITY_ **

**_Investigation Leader: Detective Officer Ness Wyman (Assigned by Chief)_ **

**_Investigation Right Hand: Sergeant Detective Ninten Thibodeaux (Self-requested Assignment)_ **

Ness smirked at reading his own name printed so neatly. He began to turn the page over.

He paused.

"...Wait a minute."

Ness reread the words on the bottom. Brows knitted, he read it again. This couldn't be, he thought. Surely, it was just a misconception on his part. But what he was reading on the page was a contradiction to what he'd heard. Ness retrieved his pencil and pressed the lead to the page, longing to underline it.

"Ninten Thibodeaux…" He repeated under his breath, "... _'Self-requested?'_ "

There was no way. Ness remembered clearly what Ninten had said. Ninten had made it very clear, several times, that he'd been requested by the OPD. He'd been called in. Not once had he ever said he requested to do the case.

' _This has to be a mistake in the paperwork or something._ ' Ness thought, ' _But then again…_ '

Come to think of it, he thought, the naive Sergeant was rather new to homicides. Surely, the department would've requested a more experienced person for such a difficult case. Even with Ninten being at the rank he was, it was unlikely. Even Ness, a lower ranking officer, was placed above him in the investigation. Fine, then. Not that big of a deal. Ninten was a bit embarrassed to admit he'd volunteered to to the case, so he said he was requested by the department. Ness sat back, struggling to ease his nerves. That was it, he thought. Nothing scary. Ninten himself had said he was quite squeamish; perhaps he just wanted to desensitize himself to improve his work. Yes, that was it. Not to mention, his sisters lived in Onett. It'd give him an excuse to go and visit them.

' _His sisters…_ ' Ness thought. He remembered how disgruntled Ninten looked when he explained their financial situation. Though it was never confirmed, there'd been plenty of rumors circulating that Nana earned way more in her salary. Even Mimmie and Minnie seemed tense when talking about the girl, describing her as nothing more than an acquaintance. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. The two girls would've been right there during the crime. The nightclub stood just paces away from the boardwalk, after all.

Ness began to flip through the files, looking over every note and bit of evidence. He had to find any sign of his suspicions being true. As he did so, one of the pages swept over the yellow sticky note Ninten had left. In that instant, Ness spotted something odd. He realized that the sticky note had writing on both sides. He quickly held the note up to his lamp and squinted to read it. As he did so, his heart nearly dropped to the floor.

_By the way, wanna check the main floor for my flashlight? I've been missing it for a while._

Ness dropped the note with a small gasp. His eyes trailed to the sand covered flashlight standing on the desk nearby. All the little pieces began to fall into place.

"Wait," Ness breathed, standing up, "He's...he's covering for them?"

Of course, he thought. No wonder Ninten asked to be assigned to the case; he just wanted to make sure no harm came to his sisters. It explained the phone call that Claus answered. Obviously, Ninten would have access to the phones. Ness staggered back, feeling nauseous.

"That corrupt piece of…!" Ness muttered, "Covering for a couple of murderers! Daring to call himself an officer of the law!"

He rushed to gather his things together. This was it, he thought. The copycat killer was a duo, he thought. A couple of jealous young girls who envied the victim enough to take her life. They must've easily figured out that Claus was too involved, and took the chance to keep him quiet as well. Ness ran to the door and unhooked his coat, preparing to make a hasty exit and alert the Chief.

He stopped.

"..." Ness slowly turned and looked to the flashlight again, "...Or…"

Maybe it wasn't even the sisters at all.

"Ninten…!" Ness gasped, "He-"

Suddenly, the desk phone began to ring, startling him out of his thoughts. Ness snapped to look at it, taking a moment to compose himself. He calmly approached the phone and lifted it off the stand, before hesitantly holding it up.

"...O-Officer Wyman, Onett Police Department." He whimpered.

"Ness?" It was Paula's voice, "Kid, you sound out of breath, are you alright?"

"I-Im fine, I'm fine, just…! Tell me what you need to tell me." Ness urged.

"Ooookay, well…" Paula drawled, "I have the results of those samples, if you wanna know them."

"Y-Yes, okay!" Ness replied.

"...Ness, all three of them were A Negative." Paula said, "Claus, the copycat, and your suspect all have A Negative blood type."

Ness, upon hearing the news, didn't even wait to hang up. He dropped the phone where he stood and quickly pulled open a cabinet, pushed aside a few folders to reveal a single handgun which he'd hidden there, just in case. After securing it under his coat, he immediately left the office, not even bothering to close the door.

' _So be it_.' He thought.

* * *

Ness' heart was still pounding as he rounded a sharp corner and found himself in the hospital ward of the department. The lights were dim, and only a few nurses remained here and there. Once they spotted Ness frantically making his way through the main hall, checking the door window of every room, they began to follow nervously.

"O-Officer! Sir!" One of them called, "Please be calm, you may frighten some patients-!"

"I need to speak with Lucas right away. He may have information that determines whether a case is solved or not!" Ness demanded.

"Oh, you needn't worry!" The nurse replied, "You won't find him here. Your investigation partner found him already! He asked him to come along, and he'd ask him a few things."

Ness stopped in his tracks and turned to her.

"And you let him go with him?!" He cried.

"A-Ah, well…! Yes! But that's only because-"

"Did you pick up on where they were going?"

"Your partner mentioned something about 'needles', and-"

"The Seventh Needle…? But it's closed..." Ness murmured, snapping up, "No! I gotta get over there!"

As he sped off for the front doors, Ness felt his eyes water. Even with plenty of police training to desensitize him from the frightening sights he'd always come to see, Ness couldn't seem to stop crying right then. He felt his spare gun tied on the opposite hip to his usual one. He hated that he had to carry another one with him. He hated that he wasn't home tonight. He hated that for all he knew, someone could die tonight, and it would be his fault. How stupid he was. How could he have not seen the signs, right there in front of him? The thought of losing Lucas to such a violent act only made him run faster. Of course he would be the next target. He was the only one who knew more than Claus did. Ness bit his lip, nearly enough to make it bleed.

' _No!_ ' He thought,  _'Don't start crying now! Be a man, Ness! You're an officer! Act like one!_ '

As he spotted the dark, shadowy silhouette of The Seventh Needle in the distance, he pushed himself to keep running. He only had so much time.

' _This ends now_.' Ness decided.

Ness regretted not calling backup as he approached the dark, quiet building. With each step he took, his hands began to quiver more and more. He settled a hand over one handgun, then the other, making he still had both on him in case things got ugly. Through the windows, he saw only darkness. He crept towards the front entrance, not surprised that the door was slightly ajar. He'd almost been hoping that it wouldn't be. Ness was desperate for any sort of assurance that none of this was true. But of course, he was fully awake and aware.

Holding his breath, he slowly pushed open the wooden door, which creaked despite its polished creation. A rectangle of dim light from the moon outside cast itself over the carpeted floor. His eyes began to adjust to the faint outlines of furniture and walls. His footsteps echoed across the large room. Each out of place sound was enough to have him shudder. Ness knew what he had to do and say, but he hesitated for several seconds. Finally, after mustering up the courage to do so, he spoke aloud.

"Th-This is the OPD!" He called, "Come out, hands up! You've been discovered!"

His voice lingered for a few moments. As he expected, he got no response. God dammit, he thought. Why didn't he call some freakin' backup? He couldn't just leave and go get some, that'd give his target plenty of time to escape. Ness, having enough, drew his main handgun and held it in front of him as he began to ease his way farther into the dark hall. Ness narrowed his eyes, frustrated that he was getting nowhere. He took a deep breath, preparing to announce his arrival again.

However, a sudden noise caught his attention.

It was too human sounding to be the wind. After a few seconds of listening, he realized that he could just barely make out the sound of frantic footsteps. He couldn't quite tell where they were coming from. He whipped his head to turn around, trying to figure out what direction he was hearing the noise from. As the footsteps got louder, frightened breathing joined them. Ness gripped the handle of his gun tighter, ready to shoot if he needed to.

"There's no point in running!" Ness said sternly, as he focused down to one point. He aimed at the spot and waited, "...I've got you now."

However, as the sound finally turned to sight, Ness wasn't prepared for what he'd see. Stumbling out of one of the doors leading downstairs, to his surprise, was Lucas. Ness gasped, backing up a bit. Lucas, gasping for breath and using the wall to keep himself upright, whipped his head around to look at Ness. The minute Lucas spotted him, he sprinted to him, grabbing his arm and burrowing into his shoulder. Ness nearly dropped the gun out of shock.

"L-Lucas!" He breathed in relief, "What's wrong? What's happening?"

"You came just in time!" Lucas cried, "I knew it was weird when he wanted to take me here of all places, but…!"

"Hold on, Lucas, calm down!" Ness urged, cupping his face and looking him in the eye, "I need you to work with me! Where is he?"

Lucas gulped, "...D-Downstairs! Once he heard your voice, he knew he had to finish the job, quick! But I managed to break free before he could take the knife and…" He broke down into tears, grabbing Ness' arm again, " _...You need to get out!_ "

"No, you need to get out! I need to go down there and finish this!" Ness protested, "Hurry, quick. Get yourself somewhere safe."

"I'm not going anywhere when I know damn well that you might die!" Lucas said, "I'm coming with you."

"Lucas…"

"No! I'm done with being all scared and nervous all the time!"

"But…!" Ness stammered, "...Alright, fine. I know that I won't be able to get rid of you. Do you have any weapons? Anything to protect yourself with?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Here. Take this, in case we're separated." Ness didn't hesitate to grab his spare gun and handed it over. Lucas fumbled with the weapon for a moment, clearly unsure on how to use it. Ness put a hand on his arm, "Don't get trigger happy. We only shoot if we need to. Stay behind me, alright?"

"O-Okay." Lucas nodded.

"Alright, then. C'mon."

Ness led the way as the two fearfully made their way to the basement door, holding onto each other to ease their nerves. Poor Lucas was trembling like a leaf. Step by step, they descended. The air grew colder and the tension grew thicker. Ness squinted to try and see anything through the nearly suffocating darkness around him. As they made their way down, a light droning could be heard. The air fans, Ness thought. He could almost hear the blood rushing in his veins.

"I-I'll say it again!" Ness called, "Out, with your hands up!" He leaned over to Lucas, "Does he have a gun on him?" He whispered.

"Not from what I saw, only a knife and a hacksaw." Lucas whispered back.

Ness turned back to the eerie subfloor, his only source of light being the small dots of machine lights here and there. It was too crowded, and he wasn't going to get anywhere without a torch. His suspect had the upper hand, he realized. Ness turned back to Lucas and took his hand.

"We're going back up. This was a bad decision on my part." He said, "It's too dark, and he'll probably catch us before we catch him. We need to get to the station and get more officers on the scene."

"B-But what if…?" Lucas stammered, backing up towards a wall.

"Just go,  _hurry_. Don't worry, it'll all-"

Lucas suddenly found himself up against the wall, and he felt something shift underneath his back. A light click sounded, and both boys hastily shielded their eyes from the unexpected light washing over the room. Ness winced, rubbing away the stinging in his non-adjusted eyes. He patted around, trying to find Lucas, who started to blink away the fuzziness.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-" Lucas went silent, his gaze trailing over Ness' shoulder. His eyes suddenly went wide with horror, " _Eyaahh! Christ!_ "

"W-What?! What'd you-" Ness turned around, feeling the same jolt of terror, " _Jesus!_ "

Before them, laying like a discarded cloth, was Ninten. He lay, collapsed on the floor, his clouded eyes staring ahead of him, seeing nothing. A thin trail of blood leaked it's way from the corner of Ninten's mouth, forming a small puddle on the floor. More blood stained the palms of his hands and the bottom of the floor. Ness grabbed hold of Lucas' arm and pulled him back, struggling to process exactly what he was seeing. Lucas, meanwhile, started to breathe heavily.

" _What the hell…?!_ " Lucas panted, "H-He's dead! He's fucking dead, Ness! We gotta go! Please, Ness, let's get out of here!"

Ness, unable to tear his gaze away from the gruesome scene, broke away from Lucas.

"Stay there! There's someone else down here with us!" Ness insisted, "I just need to see…!"

He knelt down next to the crumpled body and leaned down, hoping that there was any sign of life in his partner. Ness pressed two fingers under Ninten's jaw, and failed to find a pulse. He turned the body over, seeing that the front of his uniform was smeared with red from a wound in his shoulder. Ness, knowing full well that there was nothing he could do, tried shaking him awake.

"Ninten! Ninten, c'mon, wake up-!" Ness urged, "God dammit, wake up!"

But of course, Ninten didn't. He was gone. Ness let go of him and immediately began to search the scene for any signs of evidence.

"Alright, I just need to take a few samples," Ness hastily whispered under his breath, "I was wrong, I-I was totally wrong. All I need is a few drops of blood, maybe go get a black light, that'd be useful. Shit, what am I gonna tell the Chief? What am I gonna tell him when I get back and say that-"

_Click._

Ness went still. He nearly forgot about the expired person laying in front of him as every inch of his body seemed to go numb. All it took was the quiet sound from behind him, and the final gear had shifted from within his mind. The terror of everything that had happened, discovering Duster's secret, finding Claus' body, and even finding Ninten couldn't compare to the nearly paralyzing dread that had him in a chokehold now. It seemed like hours had gone by, just staring at the floor ahead of him. Ness wished he had a reset button. He wished he had anything to keep him from hearing what came next.

"Hands up, Ness."

Lucas' voice was empty and cold. It almost sounded foreign. Ness didn't answer. He could feel those blue eyes staring him down from behind. Such a pretty shade of blue, he thought. Funny how such an icy colour could give him such warmth. He felt no warmth now, however. Ness, for the first time in ages, couldn't feel anything.

"I said _hands up._ "

Ness was jolted from his trance, "...N-No."

A light click of the teeth came from behind him.

"Oh, Ness. You're gonna have to turn around eventually."

Ness shook his head, "N-No, I won't…! I'll stay here f-forever if I have to!"

"The end of forever's gonna come _pretty damn soon_  if you don't  _put your hands up._ "

Instinctively, Ness raised his hands above his head. He knew they were visibly trembling. How embarrassed he felt. An officer being commanded by a citizen. He grit his teeth, and realized that his eyes had begun to well up. His breath hitched, and he let his head hang. He could almost feel Lucas' gaze narrow as he cried silently to himself.

"Come, now." The smooth voice soothed him, "We can figure something out, can't we?"

Ness said nothing. He recognized the same loving tone Lucas always had. But nothing about this held any love. It sounded forced and artificial.

"Ness, I'll say it again," A beat, "Turn around, or that floor will be the last thing you see."

Realizing he had no other choice, Ness kept his arms raised as he slowly began to turn his head. He shifted around, keeping his stare averted at the floor. He saw Lucas' shoes just ahead of him. He was planted firmly on the ground. Finding nothing else to resist for, Ness reluctantly tilted his head up and faced the nightmarish reality. Instantly, he found himself staring down the barrel of a handgun.

Behind the weapon, Lucas' expression was blank and unmoving. The shaking had stopped, and he now stood perfectly still. His previously kind hearted demeanor was nowhere to be found. Ness bit his lip as their eyes locked. Lucas, seeing the poor boy practically defeated on the floor, gave a small quirk of the corner of his lip, forming a barely noticeable smirk.

"Oh dear." Lucas murmured, "What do we have here?"

"Put that down, for god's sake, you don't know what you're doing!" Ness cried, finally finding the strength to.

" _I_  don't know what I'm doing? Christ, that's a  _laugh._ " Lucas rolled his eyes, "I'm pretty sure I've made it crystal clear that I know exactly what I'm doing."

"...Y…" Ness whimpered, "... _Y-You?_ " He began to feel anger rising from within him, "B-But Lucas! Nana, she was such a good friend of yours!"

" _Was_  a good friend!  _Was_ , Ness!" Lucas shouted back, "I wasn't lying when I said I had to go back under the boardwalk to fetch something. I really did need to get those keys back. But when I went down there, I didn't find a body."

"She wasn't even down there?!"

"Oh, she was. And guess what, Ness?" Lucas jeered, "She lost her goddamn mind, I tell you what. I went down there, and that poor girl was mumbling to herself, wandering around like a lost kid. I went over there to help her, but she looked at me, and she looked like the devil himself." Lucas seemed to waver a bit as he relayed, "I didn't even have time to think. She was an animal. She came at me, ready to beat the crap outta me."

' _The bath salts…_ ' Ness thought.

"I didn't mean for it to happen!" Lucas insisted, "I tried to get out of there by climbing up the rocks, and she followed. And…" He paused, as if regretting something, "...I pushed her. I pushed her right off, and next thing I know, she hits a rock and dies." Lucas grit his teeth, "I'd heard of some killings going on, and…"

"No!" Ness exclaimed, "You copied them! That wasn't Nana's blood on her wrists, that was yours!"

Lucas grinned again and exposed the palm of his hand, which had a noticeable scabbed over gash in it, "Hurt like a bitch." He muttered, "I hated every minute of it. I thought that would just be the end of it. Someday, I'd be able to forget it."

"But…" Ness whispered, "...Claus…? Lucas,  _no!_  Your own brother!"

"He knew too much! You think I was _serious_ when I told you that story? He wasn't called by anyone! I made that shit up!" Lucas explained, "Claus left the house alright, but that was because I knew that he knew. He knew damn well what I'd done. He said he was going to the store, but I knew that he was off to spill the beans. So I had to take some extra measures. This time, it wasn't an accident."

"How _could_ you?"

"I didn't want to! You think I  _liked_  it?! You think I  _wanted_  to get rid of him?!" Lucas demanded, "Surely, that was it. It was all over and done with. That little episode I had at the station wasn't entirely acting. I was disgusted with my own actions, you know. My brother was gone, and I was horrified. I deserved to be behind bars. But I knew that with the little clues I placed, maybe your little partner would be the one blamed." Lucas gestured to Ninten's body.

"C-Clues?"

"The flashlight? You wouldn't believe how easy that was to swipe from poor Ninten once I got to the department. All I had to do was use some sand from the bottom of my shoe to smear over it, and voila, I had a 'murder weapon'." Lucas said. "And when I found out Ninten and I had the same blood type, I thought maybe I was in the clear. But  _someone_  started to grow a little too suspicious for my liking."

"How did you get him to…?"

"' _Sergeant? Yes, hello, Sergeant. I just remembered, I think I saw something near the nightclub Nana worked at. Maybe we could go over there and have a look around?'_ " Lucas relayed, "Poor guy wanted to prove himself so badly. Of course he could solve a homicide case. So being the idiot he was, he followed along. And look where that got him."

Ness slowly shook his head in disbelief, "Lucas…"

"And now, there's  _you._ " Lucas purred, "I liked you a lot, you know. You made me feel like a guiltless person. You were the perfect escape…" He seemed to drift off for a moment, before his eyes darkened again, "And then you went and  _ruined_  it. And now, all because of you, I have to get rid of the one person I had left."

"Lucas, you can't! You know you don't want to kill anyone! You know you don't want to kill  _me!_ " Ness exclaimed desperately.

"I know I don't! I didn't want to kill Nana! _Lord_  knows I didn't want to kill Claus! Not even this Ninten guy! But I don't have a choice!" Lucas hissed, raising the gun again, "Sorry, Ness." He placed his finger over the trigger, " _This case had gone cold._ "

" _Lucas, stop it-!_ "

Lucas pulled the trigger.

Click.

Click. Click.

Lucas glanced down at the weapon in confusion. He hit his palm against it and pointed it back at Ness.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

"The hell…?" Lucas muttered.

' _I forgot to load it._ ' Ness thought. ' _Jesus Christ, I didn't load it._ '

Lucas, realizing what had happened, stared at the useless weapon, before hanging his head and bursting into a small fit of snickers. He quietly laughed to himself as the reality of his defeat settled upon him. The shaking in his body returned.

"Heh...G-Good one, Ness." Lucas chuckled, "You're just...so _fuckin' smart_ , aren't you,  _Ness?_ " Tears began to trail down his face.

Ness took the opportunity to get to his feet. In one swift motion, he drew his own gun and locked it on Lucas, who dropped the other one. Ness, eyes narrowed and fiery, took a step towards him.

"Y-You...You're…" Ness spat, "...You're under arrest, y-you...you have the…"

"Th-th-the right?" Lucas mocked, raising his hands up, "The right to what, Ness? To remain silent? To go to hell? Take your pick! Go ahead, Ness, shoot!"

"I..." Ness replied.

"I've got the death penalty anyways, don't I?" Lucas asked.

"I-I'm not…"

"Not what? You're not like me? You're not _a killer?_ " Lucas challenged. He stared down Ness for a few more seconds, before wavering a bit and finally dropping to his knees. "...Heh...you don't have the guts anyways."

In a split second, the gun went off with a loud pop. Lucas jumped as the bullet struck the ground beside him. He looked back at Ness, who cocked the weapon again and resumed aim.

"Try me." He warned.

Lucas held the staring contest for several seconds, and looked as if he were debating something in his head. Ness squirmed as Lucas slowly got to his feet and began to approach him. Calmly as ever, Lucas reached forwards and gently rested his fingers over the gun's top. Looking Ness in the eye the entire time, he leaned over and pushed the barrel under his jaw. He didn't seem frightened in the slightest. Ness held his breath. One slip of his finger, and Lucas would bite the dust.

"Try you? Sure." Lucas murmured, "Go ahead then, Ness. Pull the trigger."

"I-I will!" Ness insisted.

"I know you will! I believe you!" Lucas replied, "So, on with it!"

Ness' hands continued to shake. His eye contact with the blond hadn't broken in the slightest. In the corner of his vision, Ness could see Ninten's hand slumped against the floor. The tears began to well up again. He was wrong, he thought. Ninten was only a naive, excitable young man with the aspiration to prove himself. And now, because of Ness, he was gone. He could've protected him, Ness thought. He could've protected Claus, even. Maybe, if he'd been paying enough attention, he could've protected Nana. And at the end of the day, maybe he could've even protected Lucas.

"I…" Ness trailed off. Finally, his arm dropped, and he lowered the weapon. He looked down at the floor, pocketed the gun, and bit his lip, "...You're hereby under arrest."

"I knew it. You couldn't kill me." Lucas whispered as Ness grabbed him by the wrists and proceeded to cuff him.

"Anything you say can and will be held against you." Ness relayed the usual spiel, not even bothering to hide the tears in his voice as he dragged Lucas along with him.

"Oh, yes. Music to my ears." Lucas sighed as he willingly went with him, "Maybe, someday, you and I can be together again."

"...Perhaps."

Lucas grinned, "Then at least I have that to look forward to."

Ness grimly stared ahead as he led Lucas out of the stairwell and onto the main floor. The blond put no effort into breaking away or fleeing. Ness wished Lucas would stop smiling. How he loved, yet despised that smile. How he loved, yet dreaded everything about Lucas. With each step Ness took, he wanted more and more to take out his gun and make Lucas suffer the consequences for his actions, but he refrained from doing so.

' _This should've been the best day of my life._ ' Ness thought, ' _I should've caught the killer, Ninten by my side. I should've crack this case and served justice to the right person._ '

But nothing about this felt anything less than ugly.

'. _..Ninten…_ ' He grieved, ' _I'm...so sorry._ ' Ness glared at Lucas, who walked calmly ahead of him. He grit his teeth, ' _You didn't die for nothing, kid. Not you, or Claus, or Nana. God bless you all. I'm so sorry this came to be._ '

He looked up at the starcrossed sky.

' _Just try and rest in peace._ ' He prayed, ' _And leave the rest to me._ '

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay. Definitely not my best work, but as I said, it's an experiment to try and practice a writing style very different to my usual shtick. Please save your (highly appreciated) criticisms and reviews for my other stories. Seeing as I'm not a mystery writer (and clearly never will be, seeing how this story turned out), I have no interest in trying it again. Thank you for putting up with the rather clumsy story, though!
> 
> Be sure to check out my other currently ongoing series', 'Simulacra', or 'At Your Service (2018)'.
> 
> I will also soon be writing a sequel to 'Plot Twist' and 'Three Days to Freedom'!
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> -Felix


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